Historically, governments have actively used trade barriers to make it much more difficult or expensive (or sometimes impossible) for you to buy imported goods. Protectionism is the use of trade barriers to protect local companies and their workers from foreign competition.
A tariff is a direct tax on imported goods. Like the U.S. government’s 93% duty on fireworks imported from China, tariffs increase the cost of imported goods relative to that of domestic goods.
Nontariff barriers are nontax methods of increasing the cost or reducing the volume of imported goods. There are five types of nontariff barriers: quotas, voluntary export restraints, government standards, government subsidies, and customs valuation/classification.
Quotas are specific limits on the number or volume of imported products. Voluntary export restraints are similar to quotas in that there is a limit on how much of a product can be imported annually. The difference is that the exporting country rather than the importing country imposes the limit. However, the "voluntary" offer to limit imports usually occurs because of the implicit threat of forced trade quotas by the importing country. Many nations also use subsidies, such as long-term, low-interest loans, cash grants, and tax deferments, to develop and protect companies in special industries. European and Japanese governments have invested billions of dollars to develop airplane manufacturers and steel companies, while the U.S. government has provided subsidies for manufacturers of computer chips. Not surprisingly, businesses complain about unfair trade practices when other companies receive government subsidies. Customs classification is a classification assigned to imported products by government officials that affects the size of a tariff and the imposition of import goods.