An import tariff is a schedule of duties imposed by a country on imported goods. The tariff can be levied on a percentage of the value of the import, or the amount of the import (amount per unit of import). Tariffs are traditionally designed to raise revenue for the government, however they can also be for;
- Reducing the level of imports by making them more expensive relative to domestic sustitutes (this lowers a balance of trade deficit).
- To counter the practice of dumping by raising the import price of the dumped good to market level.
- To retaliate against trade barriers imposed by another country, a trade war.
- To protect key industries such as agriculture, such as the European Union has done with its Common Agricultural Policy.
- To protect a new industry until it is sufficiently well established to compete on the international market.
In the United States and other countries, import tariffs are controversial, and the World Trade Organization has attempted to minimize them. In the United Kingdom, import tariffs were abolished by Harold Macmillan's Conservative government in 1959, a method which arguably did much to increase American cultural influence in the UK.
See also
