There are many reasons why governments decide to interfere in trade in goods and services. These reasons may be economic, cultural or political. They often choose to get involved because the company's economy is doing worse than expected. There are ways for governments to intervene to help their countries, for example by imposing different trade barriers, the most common being tariffs and quotas. First of all, one of the ways a government can help its country is by imposing tariffs. The basic definition of a tariff is a tax imposed by the government on an imported or exported product. The imported product can be priced per unit, for example two dollars per bag of rice, or as a percentage, for example 15 percent on the price of a tractor (Caballero). These taxes can be useful in several ways. First, they can protect domestic producers from international competition. A government can use a protective tariff to artificially increase the price of an imported product. For example, if there is a 50 percent tax on a machine imported and originally sold for $100, it will now cost $150. Local businesses can then sell the same machine for $149 (Martin Frost). By increasing customs duties on an imported product, domestic products appear more attractive to consumers due to their low prices, which creates a better national economy. Additionally, a customs duty may be imposed on a good that is not produced domestically. This is essentially an amount created to bring money to the government. For example, if a country does not produce rice, it can impose tariffs on that product and enjoy a steady stream of revenue. There is also another type of tariff called an “export tariff”. Although not used...... middle of paper ...... increase internationally. This is why the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was created: "This group of Middle Eastern and Latin American nations attempts to restrict the world's supply of crude oil in order to achieve greatest profits” (Wild 165). Essentially, quotas are another positive way for governments to help their countries. In conclusion, tariffs and quotas are two different types of trade barriers that basically serve the same purpose: they are two defensive methods inflicted by the government to help manage trade between countries. nations.Works citedhttp://www.investopedia.com/articles/economys/08/tariff-trade-barrier-basics.asphttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-export-tariff.htmhttp:/ /www.fao.org/docrep/003/x7352e/x7352e03.htmhttp://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quota.asphttp://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/tariff1.html