A tariff is either (1) a tax on imports or exports (trade tariff) in and out of a country, or (2) a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage (electrical tariff, etc.).^[1]

Etymology[link]

The word comes from the Italian word tariffa "list of prices, book of rates," which is derived from the Arabic ta'rif "to notify or announce."^[2]

Trade tariffs in the United States[link]

Tariffs, often called customs, were by far the largest source of United States federal revenue from the 1790s to the eve of World War I, until they were surpassed by income taxes.

Economic analysis[link]

Neoclassical economic theorists tend to view tariffs as distortions to the free market. Typical analyses find that tariffs tend to benefit domestic producers and government at the expense of consumers, and that the net welfare effects of a tariff on the importing country are negative. Normative judgments often follow from these findings, namely that it may be disadvantageous for a country to artificially shield an industry from world markets, and that it might be better to allow a collapse to take place. Opposition to all tariffs is part of the free trade principle; the World Trade Organization aims to reduce tariffs and to avoid countries discriminating between differing countries when applying tariffs.

The diagram to the right shows the costs and benefits of imposing a tariff on a good in the domestic economy, Home.

When incorporating free international trade into the model we use a supply curve denoted as Pw. This curve makes the assumption that the international supply of the good or service is perfectly elastic and that the world can produce at a near infinite quantity at the given price. Obviously, in real world conditions this is somewhat unrealistic, but making such assumptions is unlikely to have a material impact on the outcome of the model.

At world equilibrium, Pw, Home produced only S amount of the good, but had a demand of D. The difference between S and D, SD was filled by importing from abroad. After the imposition of tariff, domestic price rises from Pw to Pt but foreign export prices fall from Pw to Pt* due to the difference in tax incidence on the consumers (at home) and producers (abroad).

At the new price level at Home, Pt, which is higher than the previous Pw, more of the good is produced at Home – it now makes S* of the good. Due to the higher price, only D* of the good is demanded by Home. The difference between S* and D*, S*D* is filled by importing from abroad. Thus, imposition of tariffs reduce the quantity of imports from SD to S*D*.

Domestic producers enjoy a gain in their surplus. Producer surplus, defined as the difference between what the producers were willing to receive by selling a good and the actual price of the good, expands from the region below Pw to the region below Pt. Therefore, the domestic producers gain an amount shown by the area A.

Domestic consumers face a higher price, reducing their welfare. Consumer surplus is the area between the price line and the demand curve. Therefore, the consumer surplus shrinks from the area above Pw to the area above Pt, i.e. it shrinks by the areas A, B, C and D.

The government gains from the tariffs. It charges an amount PtPt* of tariff for every good imported. Since S*D* goods are imported, the government gains an area of C and E.

Interestingly, the triangles B and D are lost by the consumers without any gain by any other party within the society. Therefore, areas B and D represent the dead weight lost to the society.

The net loss to the society due to the tariff would be given by the total costs of the tariff minus its benefits to the society. Therefore, we can conclude that the net welfare loss due to the tariff is equal to:

Consumer Loss – Government revenue – Producer gain

or graphically, this gain is given by the areas shown by:

(A + B + C + D) – (C + E) – A

= B + D – E

that is, tariffs are beneficial to the society if the area given by the rectangle E more than offsets the losses shown by triangles B and D. Rectangle E is called the terms of trade gain whereas the two triangles B and D are also called efficiency loss, as this cost is incurred because tariffs reduce the incentives for the society to consume and produce.

The model above is only completely accurate in the extreme case where none of the consumers belong to the producers group and the cost of the product is a fraction of their wages. If instead, we take the opposite extreme, and assume all consumers come from the producers' group, and also assume their only purchasing power comes from the wages earned in production and the product costs their whole wage, then the graph looks radically different. Without tariffs, only those producers/consumers able to produce the product at the world price will have the money to purchase it at that price.

Note also, that with or without tariffs, there is no incentive to buy the imported goods over the domestic, as the price of each is the same. Only by altering available purchasing power through debt, selling off assets, or new wages from new forms of domestic production, will the imported goods be purchased. Or, of course, if its price were only a fraction of wages.^{[citation needed]}

In the real world, as more imports replace domestic goods, they consume a larger fraction of available domestic wages, moving the graph towards this view of the model. If new forms of production are not found in time, the nation will go bankrupt, and internal political pressures will lead to debt default, extreme tariffs, or worse.^{[citation needed]}

Establishing tariffs inefficiently slows down this process at the expense of the consumer's real wages, allowing more time for new forms of production to be developed, but also buttresses industries which may never regain competitive prices.^{[citation needed]}

Political analysis[link]

The tariff has been used as a political tool to establish an independent nation; for example, the United States Tariff Act of 1789, signed specifically on July 4, was called the "Second Declaration of Independence" by newspapers because it was intended to be the economic means to achieve the political goal of a sovereign and independent United States.^[3]

In modern times, the political impact of tariffs has been seen in a positive and negative sense. The 2002 United States steel tariff imposed a 30% tariff on a variety of imported steel products for a period of three years. American steel producers supported the tariff,^[4] but the move was criticised by the Cato Institute.^[5]

Tariffs can occasionally emerge as a political issue prior to an election. In the leadup to the 2007 Australian Federal election, the Australian Labor Party announced it would undertake a review of Australian car tariffs if elected.^[6] The Liberal Party made a similar commitment, while independent candidate Nick Xenophon announced his intention to introduce tariff-based legislation as "a matter of urgency".^[7]

Tariffs within technology strategies[link]

When tariffs are an integral element of a country's technology strategy, the tariffs can be highly effective in helping to increase and maintain the country's economic health. As an integral part of the technology strategy, tariffs are effective in supporting the technology strategy's function of enabling the country to out maneuver the competition in the acquisition and utilization of technology in order to produce products and provide services that excel at satisfying the customer needs for a competitive advantage in domestic and foreign markets.

In contrast, in economic theory tariffs are viewed as a primary element in international trade with the function of the tariff being to influence the flow of trade by lowering or raising the price of targeted goods to create what amounts to an artificial competitive advantage. When tariffs are viewed and used in this fashion, they are addressing the country's and the competitors' respective economic healths in terms of maximizing or minimizing revenue flow rather than in terms of the ability to generate and maintain a competitive advantage which is the source of the revenue. As a result, the impact of the tariffs on the economic health of the country are at best minimal but often are counter-productive.

A program within the US intelligence community, Project Socrates, that was tasked with addressing America's declining economic competitiveness, determined that countries like China and India were using tariffs as an integral element of their respective technology strategies to rapidly build their countries into economic superpowers. It was also determined that the US, in its early years, had also used tariffs as an integral part of what amounted to technology strategies to transform the country into a superpower.^[8]

See also[link]

Types of tariff:

• Environmental tariff
• Excise duty
• Import quota
• List of tariffs
• Telecommunications tariff

Trade dynamics:

• Deadweight loss
• Effective rate of protection

Trade liberalisation:

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• Swiss Formula
• United States International Trade Commission

General:

• Trade barrier
• Protectionism
• Embargo

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Salvatore, Dominick (2005), Introduction to International Economics (First ed.), Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, ISBN 0-471-20226-6 .
• Taussig, F. W. (1911), "Tariff", Encyclopædia Britannica, 26 (11th ed.), pp. 422–427, http://www.econlib.org/library/Taussig/tsgEnc1.html .

External links[link]

• World Bank's site for Trade and Tariff
• UN's ITC website for accessible tariff information
• WTO Tariff Analysis Online - Detailed information on tariff and trade data

Unsere Besten ("Our Best") was a television series shown in German public television (ZDF) in November 2003, similar to the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons.^[1]

In subsequent years, a dozen similar rankings were compiled, mostly titled the "favourite (topic) of the Germans", with topics including books, places, songs, actors, comedians, sports persons (extra list for soccer players), inventions, and TV broadcasts (extra list for Olympic games).

The Greatest Germans[link]

The intention initially was to find out "Who are the greatest Germans?" (Wer sind die größten Deutschen?), with more rankings to follow later. The German public was allowed to vote (via postcard, SMS or Internet) for the most important Germans—historical or contemporary—from a list of more than 300 people, plus additional suggestions.

This pre-determined list of candidates was created for two reasons:

• to exclude controversial figures from certain eras of German history, like Adolf Hitler and Erich Honecker.
• to decide beforehand who was to be considered as "German" in the first place, due to the complications of German history and its changing frontiers, which could have excluded such people as Mozart and Romy Schneider (Austria) or Albert Schweitzer (France).

However, the inclusion of Nikolaus Kopernikus, who spoke and wrote German, in the list of scientists caused controversy in Poland where he is revered as a national hero — the Polish Senate declared^[2] him an "exceptional Pole" on 12 June 2003. Similarly the inclusion of Mozart and Freud was criticized in Austria.

For the final Top Ten, an additional round was held, in which each candidate was promoted by an "ambassador" (most of them journalists) that would explain the work and importance of his/her favourite.

• Guido Knopp for Konrad Adenauer
• Margot Käßmann for Martin Luther
• Gregor Gysi for Karl Marx
• Alice Schwarzer for die Geschwister Scholl, Sophie and Hans Scholl
• Friedrich Nowottny for Willy Brandt
• Götz Alsmann for Johann Sebastian Bach
• Peter Sodann for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Wolf von Lojewski for Johannes Gutenberg
• Helmut Markwort for Otto von Bismarck
• Nina Ruge for Albert Einstein

There was controversy over the televoting because of the high call charges associated with the programme.^[3]

The final list appeared as shown below (in descending order). Several rather unknown figures ranked relatively high, no doubt because of temporary popularity and organized votes from fan groups (15.), or in case of 125., just an entry by organized Internet forum members to honour one of their members.

Final list[link]

1. Konrad Adenauer

2. Martin Luther

3. Karl Marx

5. Willy Brandt

6. Johann Sebastian Bach

7. Johann Wolfgang Goethe

8. Johannes Gutenberg

9. Otto von Bismarck

10. Albert Einstein

11. Adolph Kolping

12. Ludwig van Beethoven

13. Helmut Kohl

14. Robert Bosch

16. Konrad Zuse

17. Joseph Kentenich

1. Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany 1949–1963 (1876–1967)
2. Martin Luther, leader of the reformation, father of Protestantism (1483–1546)
3. Karl Marx, political economist, philosopher (1818–1883)
4. Sophie and Hans Scholl, White Rose young anti-Nazi students (1921/1918-1943)
5. Willy Brandt, West German chancellor from 1969–1974, implemented the Ostpolitik (1913–1992)
6. Johann Sebastian Bach, composer (1685–1750)
7. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writer (1749–1832)
8. Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of movable type printing in Europe (1400–1468)
9. Otto von Bismarck, politician responsible for creation of German Empire in 1871, and hence its first chancellor (1815–1898)
10. Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist who discovered the general theory of relativity (1879–1955)
11. Adolph Kolping, priest (1813–1865)
12. Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (1770–1827)
13. Helmut Kohl, West German chancellor from 1982–1998, important figure for Germany's Reunification (born 1930)
14. Robert Bosch, inventor and industrialist (1861–1942)
15. Daniel Küblböck, singer (born 1985)
16. Konrad Zuse, computer inventor (1910–1995)
17. Josef Kentenich, priest (1885–1968)
18. Albert Schweitzer, physician and philanthropist (1875–1965)
19. Karlheinz Böhm, actor and charity activist (born 1928)
20. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer (1756–1791)
21. Helmut Schmidt, West German chancellor from 1974–1982 (born 1918)
22. Regine Hildebrandt, politician (1941–2001)
23. Alice Schwarzer, feminist journalist (born 1942)
24. Thomas Gottschalk, TV host (born 1950)
25. Herbert Grönemeyer, musician (born 1956)
26. Michael Schumacher, racing driver (born 1969)
27. Ludwig Erhard, west German chancellor, creator of the Wirtschaftswunder in the 1950s (1897–1977)
28. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, physicist (1845–1923)
29. Günther Jauch, television celebrity and journalist (born 1956)
30. Dieter Bohlen, television celebrity and music producer (born 1954)
31. Jan Ullrich, athlete (cycling) (born 1973)
32. Steffi Graf, athlete (tennis) (born 1969)
33. Samuel Hahnemann, physician (1755–1843)
34. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian and Nazi victim (1906–1945)
35. Boris Becker, athlete (tennis) (born 1967)
36. Franz Beckenbauer, athlete (football), coach and organiser (born 1945)
37. Oskar Schindler, industrialist, Jews' saviour (1908–1974)
38. Nena, singer (born 1960)
39. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, politician (born 1927)
40. Heinz Rühmann, actor (1902–1994)
41. Harald Schmidt, comedian (born 1957)
42. Frederick II of Prussia ("Frederick the Great") king (1712–1786)
43. Immanuel Kant, philosopher, leading figure of the Enlightenment (1724–1804)
44. Patrick Lindner, singer (born 1960)
45. Hartmut Engler, singer (Pur) (born 1961)
46. Hildegard von Bingen, nun, writer and musician (1098–1179)
47. Heino, singer (born 1938)
48. Richard von Weizsäcker, Federal President from 1984–1994 (born 1920)
49. Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg, military officer and Anti-Hitler activist (1907–1944)
50. Marlene Dietrich, actress and singer (1901–1992)
51. Robert Koch, physician (1843–1910)
52. Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998–2005 (born 1948)
53. Karl May, writer (1842–1912)
54. Loriot (Vicco von Bülow), satirist (1923–2011)
55. Albertus Magnus, scholar (1200–1280)
56. Rudi Völler, athlete (football) (born 1960)
57. Heinz Erhardt, comedian (1909–1979)
58. Roy Black, singer and actor (1943–1991)
59. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, racing driver (born 1967)
60. Wolfgang Apel, animal rights activist (born 1951)
61. Alexander von Humboldt, scientist (1769–1859)
62. Peter Kraus, singer (born 1939)
63. Wernher von Braun, rocket scientist (1912–1977)
64. Dirk Nowitzki, athlete (basketball) (born 1978)
65. Campino, singer (Die Toten Hosen) (born 1962)
66. Franz Josef Strauß, politician (1915–1988)
67. Sebastian Kneipp, physician (1821–1897)
68. Friedrich Schiller, writer (1759–1805)
69. Richard Wagner, composer (1813–1883)
70. Katarina Witt, athlete (figure skating) (born 1965)
71. Fritz Walter, athlete (football), captain of 1954 world championship winners (1920–2002)
72. Nicole, singer (born 1964)
73. Friedrich von Bodelschwingh, priest (1831–1910)
74. Otto Lilienthal, aviation pioneer (1848–1896)
75. Marion Gräfin Dönhoff, editor (1909–2002)
76. Thomas Mann, writer (1875–1955)
77. Hermann Hesse, writer (1877–1962)
78. Romy Schneider, actress (1938–1982)
79. Sven Hannawald, athlete (ski jumping) (born 1974)
80. Elisabeth of Bavaria ("Sissi"), royal consort (1837–1898)
81. Willy Millowitsch, actor and comedian (1909–1999)
82. Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor from 1998–2005 (born 1944)
83. Joseph Beuys, artist (1921–1986)
84. Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844–1900)
85. Rudi Dutschke, student leader in the 1960s (1940–1979)
86. Karl Lehmann, priest (born 1936)
87. Beate Uhse, erotica entrepreneur (1919–2001)
88. Trümmerfrauen ("rubble women"), rebuilding Germany after the war
89. Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician and physicist (1777–1855)
90. Helmut Rahn, athlete (football), scorer of winning goal in 1954 (1929–2003)
91. Albrecht Dürer, artist (1471–1528)
92. Max Schmeling, athlete (boxing) (1905–2005)
93. Karl Benz, automobile pioneer (1844–1929)
94. Frederick II, emperor (1194–1250)
95. Reinhard Mey, singer-songwriter (born 1942)
96. Heinrich Heine, writer (1797–1856)
97. Georg Elser, Hitler assassin (1903–1945)
98. Konrad Duden, linguist (1829–1911)
99. James Last, composer (born 1929)
100. Uwe Seeler, athlete (football) (born 1936)
101. Jenny de la Torre Castro, "Angel of the Homeless" (born 1954)
102. Erich Gutenberg, economist (1897–1984)
103. Emanuel Lasker, chess champion (1868–1941)
104. Rudolf Steiner, philosopher (1861–1925)
105. Edith Stein, theologian (1891–1942)
106. Farin Urlaub, musician (Die Ärzte) (born 1963)
107. Xavier Naidoo, singer (born 1971)
108. Nicolaus Copernicus, astronomer (1473–1543)
109. Adam Riese, mathematician (1492–1559)
110. Gottlieb Daimler, automobile pioneer (1834–1900)
111. Erich Kästner, writer (1899–1974)
112. Rosa Luxemburg, politician (1871–1919)
113. Bertolt Brecht, writer (1898–1956)
114. Theodor Heuss, politician (1884–1963)
115. Otto I the Great, monarch (912–973)
116. Sigmund Freud, psychoanalyst (1856–1939)
117. Christine Licci, Citibank chief (born 1964)
118. Wilhelm Busch, writer (1832–1908)
119. Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, politician (born 1921)
120. Udo Lindenberg, musician (born 1946)
121. Eugen Drewermann, theologian (born 1940)
122. Ferdinand Sauerbruch, physician (1875–1951)
123. Peter Maffay, musician (born 1949)
124. Josef Frings, cardinal archbishop of Cologne (1887–1978)
125. Silke Fritzen, entry pushed by a group of internet users
126. Max Planck, physicist (1858–1947)
127. Johannes Rau, politician, Federal President 1999–2004 (1931–2006)
128. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Brothers Grimm , linguists (1785–1863 and 1786–1859)
129. Baron Münchhausen, legendary nobleman and entertainer (1720–1797)
130. Wilhelm II, last German emperor (1859–1941)
131. Rudolf Augstein, journalist and publisher (1923–2002)
132. Heinrich Böll, writer (1917–1985)
133. Ralf Schumacher, racing driver (born 1975)
134. Anne Frank, teenage diary writer and Nazi victim (1929–1945)
135. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor ("Barbarossa"), monarch (1122–1190)
136. Sigmund Jähn, cosmonaut, first German in space (born 1937)
137. Franziska van Almsick, athlete (swimming) (born 1979)
138. Clemens August Graf von Galen, theologian and resistance fighter (1878–1946)
139. Ludwig II, "the Fairy tale King", king of Bavaria (1845–1886)
140. Carl Friedrich Zeiss, physicist (1816–1888)
141. Hildegard Knef, actress and singer (1925–2002)
142. Levi Strauss, entrepreneur and inventor (jeans) (1829–1902)
143. Sepp Herberger, football coach of the 1954 world cup winning team(1897–1977)
144. Klaus Kinski, actor (1926–1991)
145. Werner von Siemens, physicist and entrepreneur (1816–1892)
146. Ferdinand Porsche, automobile constructor (1875–1951)
147. Peter Scholl-Latour, journalist (born 1924)
148. August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, writer of national anthem lyrics (1798–1874)
149. Siegfried and Roy, illusionists and tiger tamers (born 1939 and 1944)
150. Christoph Langen, athlete (bobsledding) (born 1962)
151. Michelle, singer (born 1974)
152. Manfred von Ardenne, physicist (1907–1997)
153. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, universal scholar (1646–1716)
154. Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788–1860)
155. Kurt Tucholsky, writer (1890–1935)
156. Karl (born 1920) and Theo Albrecht (born 1922), entrepreneurs (Aldi)
157. Joseph Ratzinger, cardinal (born 1927) (became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005)
158. Werner Heisenberg, physicist (1901–1976)
159. Harald Juhnke, actor (1929–2005)
160. Till Eulenspiegel, literary figure as joker and jester, first appeared 1510/1511 (-)
161. Götz George, actor (born 1938)
162. Rudolf Diesel, inventor (1858–1913)
163. Stefan Raab, TV host and musician (born 1966)
164. Hans Albers, singer and actor (1891–1960)
165. Nina Hagen, singer (born 1954)
166. Johannes Kepler, astronomer (1571–1630)
167. Hans Rosenthal, TV host (1925–1987)
168. Rupert Neudeck, physician and charity activist (Cap Anamur) (born 1939)
169. Dieter Hildebrandt, comedian (born 1927)
170. Marie-Theres Kroetz Relin, actress and housewife (born 1966)
171. Kilian Saum, priest (born 1958)
172. Hans Söllner, singer (born 1955)
173. Gregor Gysi, (East) German politician (born 1948)
174. Arminius, der Cherusker, Germanic leader in battle vs. Romans (-)
175. Günter Grass, writer (born 1927)
176. Inge Meysel, actress (1910–2004)
177. Hans Hartz, musician (1943–2002)
178. Karl Lagerfeld, fashion designer (born 1933 or 1938)
179. Oliver Kahn, athlete (football) (born 1969)
180. Gerd Müller, athlete (football) (born 1945)
181. Ferdinand von Zeppelin, airship pioneer (1838–1917)
182. Nikolaus August Otto, inventor (1832–1891)
183. Grete Schickedanz, Quelle mail-order entrepreneur (1911–1994)
184. Clara Zetkin, women's rights activist (1857–1933)
185. Hannah Arendt, journalist and philosopher (1906–1975)
186. Roman Herzog, Federal President 1994–1999(born 1934)
187. Hermann Oberth, rocket physicist (1894–1984)
188. Karl Valentin, comedian (1882–1948)
189. Frank Schöbel, East German singer (born 1942)
190. Jakob Fugger, entrepreneur (1459–1525)
191. Henry Maske, athlete (boxing) (born 1964)
192. Helmut Zacharias, violinist (1920–2002)
193. Michael Ballack, athlete (football) (born 1976)
194. Bernhard Grzimek, animal scientist and filmer (1909–1987)
195. Richard Strauss, composer (1864–1949)
196. Edmund Stoiber, politician (born 1941)
197. Klaus Störtebeker, pirate (ca. 1370–1401)
198. Peter Frankenfeld, Radio and Television personality (1913–1979)
199. Mildred Scheel, physician and charity activist (1932–1985)
200. Claudia Schiffer, model (born 1970)

Other editions[link]

Other countries have produced similar shows, see also: Greatest Britons spin-offs.

References[link]

External links[link]

• unserebesten.zdf.de at archive.org