In 1776 the “Wealth of Nations” was published and demonstrated the theoretic superiority of Free Trade over governmental practices intended to produce a specie surplus. The latter required extensive and oppressive government involvement and control.
Smith believed that greater wealth was produced by getting rid of the mercantile policies of the government and adopting free trade.
So there was no “free trade vs an alternative” to choose from. Hamilton and other Founders knew that tariffs were taxes and relied on them because they had no choice.
However, their desire to limit government contradicted expanding it to control foreign trade. Given the state of the ability to tax which confronted the FF, the distortion of our economy by Royal Colonial laws, and the need to service the National Debt and pay the expenses of government only a tariff could accommodate all that.
We have gone past this point, never to return.
First of all Adam Smith is a Utopian a$$ in my opinion. His radical theories are counter intuitive to a citizen's right of self protection and self reliance. Also, unknowingly Smith's radical theories played right into Karl Marx's hand, a half century later, who advocated Free Trade as socially destructive and important as a step to socialism, then onward to Communism.
All of Marx's predictions are coming true right before our eyes! Smith makes no distinctions/morality judgement between nations which is also radical, ridiculous AND dangerous. Smith even advocated for retaliatory tariffs which always goes unmentioned.
But beyond Smith's inanities, Conservative believe consumption based taxes are superior to the very progressive income tax. Tariffs are the quintessential consumption tax that progs killed in 1913. Free Trade supports the income tax and eliminates the tariff which is an anathema to a true Conservative.
So my guess is Libertarians are really closet socialists as long as they can smoke legal dope and get perceived low cost junk from 3rd world and/or Communist nations.
The big joke is you and your Lie-bertarean ilk actually think you are Conservative.