On the Design of Tariff Policy: A Practical Guide to the Arguments For and Against Uniform Tariffs

Publication:
On the Design of Tariff Policy: A Practical Guide to the Arguments For and Against Uniform Tariffs

dc.contributor.author	Tarr, David G.
dc.date.accessioned	2017-02-22T20:51:05Z
dc.date.available	2017-02-22T20:51:05Z
dc.date.issued	2000-09
dc.description.abstract	This chapter examines the arguments for and against a uniform tariff structure. Arguments against uniformity are: terms of trade; ‘strategic,’ infant or restructuring industry considerations, revenue or balance of payments purposes, and tariffs as a negotiating tool at the WTO. Arguments in favor of uniformity are: political economy considerations; administrative convenience; and reduction of smuggling and corruption in customs. The author maintain that tariff uniformity is the best choice in practice. A uniform tariff conveys a number of advantages, the most important of which is that if the tariff is uniform, the gains to industry lobbying are much smaller (and may be negative), creating a kind of free-rider problem for the lobbying industry and dramatically reduces the incentive to lobby for protection. Then: (1) the level of protection is likely to be lower (the recent experience of Chile is a dramatic case in point); (2) there is a direct saving of resources from the reduced lobbying; (3) the reduction to the gains from lobbying for protection provides a vastly improved signal to valuable entrepreneurial talent which will thus be encouraged to create better and cheaper products; and (4) the reduction in resources devoted to lobbying will result in less corruption in government, which may have positive spillover effects into other dimensions of government activity.	en
dc.identifier	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/562241486624901336/On-the-design-of-tariff-policy-a-practical-guide-to-the-arguments-for-and-against-uniform-tariffs
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/26132
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/26132
dc.language	English
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subject	tariffs
dc.subject	trade policy
dc.subject	uniform tariffs
dc.subject	infant industry protection
dc.subject	tariff revenues
dc.subject	balance of payments
dc.subject	WTO
dc.subject	tariff uniformity
dc.title	On the Design of Tariff Policy	en
dc.title.subtitle	A Practical Guide to the Arguments For and Against Uniform Tariffs	en
dc.type	Working Paper	en
dc.type	Document de travail	fr
dc.type	Documento de trabajo	es
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.crossref.title	On the Design of Tariff Policy
okr.date.disclosure	2017-02-08
okr.date.doiregistration	2025-05-05T12:43:16.365403Z
okr.doctype	Publications & Research
okr.doctype	Publications & Research::Working Paper
okr.docurl	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/562241486624901336/On-the-design-of-tariff-policy-a-practical-guide-to-the-arguments-for-and-against-uniform-tariffs
okr.guid	562241486624901336
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum	090224b08491ea6e_1_0
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum	27175244
okr.identifier.report	111992
okr.imported	true
okr.language.supported	en
okr.pdfurl	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/562241486624901336/pdf/111992-WP-Sept-2000-PUBLIC-WTO-HAND.pdf	en
okr.topic	International Economics and Trade::International Trade and Trade Rules
okr.topic	International Economics and Trade::Trade Liberalization
okr.topic	International Economics and Trade::Trade Policy
okr.topic	International Economics and Trade::World Trade Organization
okr.unit	T&C GP-Trade&Competition-IBRD (GTCTC)