Skip to Content
 Close search

The nuisance cost of tariffs

Commission research paper

This research paper was released on 5 August 2022. The report argues that in Australia’s low tariff-rate environment, the costs of the tariffs arise primarily from the complexity of the tariff system rather than from distortions to the economy.

Download the paper

  • Contents
  • Preliminaries: Cover, Copyright and publication detail, Contents, and Acknowledgments
  • Executive summary
  • 1. What this study is about
    • 1.1 Scope
    • 1.2 Organisation of the report
    • 1.3 Conduct of the study
  • 2. The tariff system
    • 2.1 Statutory tariffs, preferences and concessions
    • 2.2 Using tariffs
  • 3. Fiscal implications of tariffs
    • 3.1 Revenue implications of Australia’s tariff policy
    • 3.2 Administration costs
  • 4. Economic implications of tariffs
    • 4.1 Compliance costs of avoiding tariffs
    • 4.2 Distortions and costs to the economy
    • 4.3 Overall assessment of economic costs
  • 5. Why the nuisance costs of tariffs matter
    • 5.1 What do Australia’s tariffs cost?
    • 5.2 Costs and revenues, now and in future
  • A. Consultation
  • B. Estimating administration costs
  • C. Estimating preferential trade agreement-related compliance costs
  • Abbreviations
  • Glossary
  • References

Printed copies

Printed copies of this report can be purchased from Canprint Communications.

Publications feedback

We value your comments about this publication and encourage you to provide feedback.

Submit publications feedback