If a government wants to decrease imports from other countries, one option is to impose trade restrictions. One such trade restriction is a tariff, which is a tax on imported goods. Even though the tax falls on the importer, the tax is commonly passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. The underlying goal is to incentivize consumers to purchase goods produced domestically, rather than the higher-priced imports. A common argument is that these tariffs protect domestic industries from foreign competition. A government can reduce its country's imports more explicitly by setting a legal limit on imports allowed into a country. This limit is known as a quota. Dumping refers to the practice of subsidizing the production of a good to be exported and sold in other countries at a lower price. Because the production of the good is subsidized, the cost to the firm is lower than before, allowing the exporting firm to charge much lower prices than the domestic producers in that industry