Tariffs and Welfare for a Large Country For a large importing country, a tariff initially increases the importer’s welfare because the terms-of-trade gain exceeds the deadweight loss. So the importer’s welfare rises from point B. Welfare continues to rise until the tariff is at its optimal level (point C). After that, welfare falls. If the tariff is too large (greater than at B′), then welfare will fall below the free-trade level. For a prohibitive tariff, with no imports at all, the importer’s welfare will be at the no-trade level, at point A.