Tariff and Quota:

Protection to domestic import-competing industries is made either through a tariff or a quota. A tariff has an immediate advantage for governments in that it will automatically generate tariff revenue (assuming the tariff is not prohibitive). Quotas may or may not generate revenue depending on how the quota is administered. If a quota is administered by selling quota tickets (i.e., import rights) then a quota will generate government revenue, however, if the quota is administered on a first-come, first served basis, or if quota tickets are given away, then no revenue is collected. Tariff collection involves product identification, collection and processing of fees. Quota administration will also involve product identification and some method of keeping track, or counting, the product as it enters the country in multiple ports of entry. Tariffs types include ad valorem, specific, compound and alternative tariffs.

The most important distinction between the two policies, however, is the protective effect the policy has on the import competing industries. In one sense, quotas are more protective of the domestic industry because they limit the extent of import competition to a fixed maximum quantity. The quota provides an upper bound to the foreign competition the domestic industries will face. In contrast, tariffs simply raise the price, but do not limit the degree of competition or trade volume to any particular level. In the original GATT, a preference for the application of tariffs rather than quotas was introduced as a guiding principle. Tariffs allowed for more market flexibility and were less protective over time. With a quota in place, it is very difficult to discern the degree to which a market is protected since it can be difficult to measure how far the quota is below the free trade import level. In situations where market changes cause a decrease in imports, a tariff is more protective than a quota. This occurs if domestic demand falls, domestic supply rises, the world price rises, or some combination of these changes occurs. A tariff rate quota (TRQ) combines two policy instruments that nations historically have used to restrict such imports: quotas and tariffs.