Nigeria, April 28 -- Are tariffs necessarily a catastrophe or a catalyst for a developing economy like Nigeria? Tariff originated from the Arabic word "arrafa", later translated into Italian as "tariffa" and via French to English as "tariff" and has been dominant in international trade for ages.

The 16th to 18th centuries were the era of mercantilism, where sovereign states maximised wealth acquisition through expanding exports and minimising imports. Tariffs on imports were advantageous in subsidising exports and reinforcing monopolies. In 1776, Adam Smith published "The Wealth of Nations", advocating for the revocation of mercantilism, high taxes, slave trade and monopolies, as individuals need to fulfil self-interest to result in soci...