Tariffs are taxes that governments collect on commodities that are leaving or arriving at a country’s geoeconomically defined borders. They are also the rates or charges that are imposed either directly or indirectly on imported or exported goods or services. Tariffs invariably raise the cost of imported products relative to domestic products. Usually, the gains from trade are accrued to the government, thereby contributing to increased government revenue, which will be utilized to provide socioeconomic amenities and welfare development programs for the citizenry. Two major types of commodity taxes are tariffs and nontariff measures (NTMs), and this entry discusses both, with a focus on their impact on global trade.

Over time, tariffs have increasingly attained negligible rates in the trade agenda of more countries. However, NTMs ...