tariff

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablebusiness

   A tax a government charges on goods that enter, or sometimes leave, a country.

   Grammar: Takes a preposition for the goods: a tariff on steel.

   Patterns

   • a tariff on something
   • impose a tariff on something

   The government placed a new tariff on imported steel.

   Higher tariffs made foreign cars more expensive.

   The two countries agreed to remove tariffs on farm products.

2. 2nouncountableBritish

   A printed list of fixed prices or rates charged by a business, such as a hotel, phone company or energy supplier.

   Grammar: Mostly British in this sense.

   Patterns

   • a tariff for something

   The hotel displays its room tariff in the lobby.

   I switched to a cheaper energy tariff last month.

   The mobile tariff includes unlimited data.

Word forms

Common combinations

impose a tariff

The country imposed a tariff on imported textiles.

raise tariffs

Raising tariffs can start a trade dispute.

remove tariffs

Both sides agreed to remove tariffs gradually.

import tariff

The import tariff pushed up the price of coffee.

energy tariff

She compared every energy tariff before switching.

tariff barrier

Tariff barriers protect local industries but raise prices.

Synonyms and how they differ

duty

Duty is the more general word for a tax on goods, such as customs duty, and sounds less political than tariff.

levy

Levy is any official charge and is not limited to trade.

tax

Tax covers all government charges, whereas tariff is only a tax on traded goods.

rate

Rate is a price per unit and is the plain word where tariff means a price list.

Opposites

Word family

tariffed adjective

subject to a tariff

tariff-free adjective

not subject to a tariff

non-tariff adjective

describes trade barriers other than taxes, such as rules and quotas

Commonly confused: tariff or quota?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “tariff”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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