A tariff is a tax that a government puts on goods imported from other countries. It can also mean a list of prices or fees for services.
It likely comes from Italian 'tariffa', from Arabic 'taʿrīf' meaning 'notification or inventory', related to 'ʿarafa' meaning 'to know'. The word originally referred to written lists of prices or duties.
Tariffs are like speed bumps for international trade—by raising the price of foreign goods, they can protect local industries or start trade fights. The same word that once meant a simple price list now sits at the center of global economic politics.
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