Import quota

The arrangement may allocate access through licences or other mechanisms. Its effect depends on demand, domestic supply, allocation and enforcement; it can affect prices and create scarcity rents without itself being a tax per imported unit. Distinguish an absolute quota from a tariff-rate quota, where a specified quantity can face one duty treatment and further imports another. The exact product, origin, period and exceptions require the relevant agreement or law. A textbook quota example is not evidence of the current limit for a real transaction.