Trade Barriers
Any government rule or tax that makes it harder or more expensive to trade across borders.
In plain English
Any government rule or tax that makes it harder or more expensive to trade across borders.
Trade barriers are obstacles governments put in the way of imports and exports. The best-known is the tariff, a tax at the border. Others are non-tariff barriers like quotas, licences, strict product standards and subsidies for local firms.
Barriers can shield local industries but usually raise prices and invite retaliation. When they go up sharply between big economies, currencies of export-heavy countries tend to suffer.
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