tariff
TARE-if
/ˈtærɪf/
A tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports.
Usually used by governments to protect domestic industries by making foreign goods more expensive.
The story behind the word. The word traveled from Arabic 'ta'rif' (meaning notification or inventory) through Italian 'tariffa'. It originally referred to a book of rates or a list of prices for goods.
Word relationships
- duty: Duty is a more general term for any tax on goods; tariff often refers to the specific schedule of rates.
- levy: A levy is the act of imposing the tax, whereas the tariff is the tax itself.
- subsidy: A subsidy is money given by the government to help a business, while a tariff is money taken by the government from foreign trade.
Commonly confused with
- quota: A tariff is a tax (price control); a quota is a limit on quantity (volume control).
Collocations
- impose a tariff
- protective tariff
- trade tariff
Example sentences
- "The administration announced a new 25 percent tariff on imported steel." News report
- "The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 is often cited as a factor that worsened the Great Depression." Historical legislation
Memory hook
Tariff sounds like 'Tear-off'. Imagine tearing off a piece of your profit to pay the government tax. Tariff = Trade Tax.
When not to use
Do not confuse with a 'fee' for a service; a tariff is specifically a trade tax.
Fun facts
- In the early days of the United States, tariffs were the primary source of government revenue before the federal income tax was introduced.
Related words
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