Trade costs and the choice of international commodity tax base revisited: The role of transboundary pollution

It is generally believed that when trade costs fall, the origin‐based production taxes are superior to the destination‐based consumption taxes under imperfect competition. This result can be justified from a perspective of purely local pollution when considering a production‐type externality. However, we show that with smaller trade costs, the destination‐based consumption taxes tend to generate greater welfare levels than the origin‐based production taxes when the degree of a production‐type transboundary externality is high enough, contrary to general belief.