What is "protective tariff"

Protective \Pro*tect"ive\, a. [Cf. F. protectif.] Affording protection; sheltering; defensive. `` The favor of a protective Providence.''
--Feltham.

Protective coloring (Zo["o]l.), coloring which serves for the concealment and preservation of a living organism. Cf. Mimicry.
--Wallace.

Protective tariff (Polit. Econ.), a tariff designed to secure protection (see Protection, 4.), as distinguished from a tariff designed to raise revenue. See Tariff, and Protection, 4.

n. a tariff imposed to protect domestic firms from import competition

Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. Tariffs are also imposed in order to raise government revenue, or to reduce an undesirable activity ( sin tax). Although a tariff can simultaneously protect domestic industry and earn government revenue, the goals of protection and revenue maximization suggest different tariff rates, entailing a tradeoff between the two aims.