Trump's tariffs have an Arabic root. Here's how

Lebanese content creator Fadi shared the interesting origins of the word tariff, a topical subject as Trump's spark debate on taxes on foreign goods.
3 min read
05 February, 2025
One content creator delved into the etymology of the word tariffs [Getty]

US President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on countries has caused global shockwaves and discussions. This week, he announced a 25 percent levy on Mexican imports and an additional 10 percent tax on Chinese goods.

Last-minute conversations between Trump and the President of Mexico and Canada's Prime Minister earned them a 30-day delay on taxes on imports in exchange for them agreeing to bolster border security, but the decision has nonetheless caused panic.

Trump maintains the tariffs are needed to improve the US economy and "protect" the country from threats.

Reports state that Trump already said he could impose tariffs on EU goods soon, but also suggested he could work out a deal with the UK.

The conversations surrounding tariffs sparked one content creator to investigate the origins and etymology of the word, tracing it back to the Arabic language.

Lebanese content creator, Fadi, known on Instagram as 'cedrusk' posted a video on Monday, sharing the history of the word with his over 400,000 followers.

He said the word 'tariff' originally came from the Arabic word 'taarifa' which then went through Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Italian and other languages before it became the English word that it is known as today.

Through these various languages, the meaning changed over time, he explained.

The Arabic word 'taarifa' comes from the word 'aarfa' meaning 'to know' or 'taarof' which means 'to know one another'.

Fadi explains the link between tariffs and the verb can be found in Ottoman times, where taarifa was at the time a set of tables - similar to multiplication tables - which told customs agents how much tax to impose on which goods.

Later, the word would undergo a shift in meaning, from the knowledge of rates to the rates themselves.  

In some Arabic dialects, the word for tariffs and customs duties came from Latin, Byzantine Greek and Turkish.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the word tariffs has roots in the interchange between Arab and European merchants, dating back to ancient times. 

"Thanks to the extensive trade networks of Islamic dynasties—such as the Cairo-based Fatimid empire, active in the Mediterranean in the 10th through the 12th centuries—many terms relating to commerce entered European languages from Arabic," the WSJ stated. 

Financial terms have links to the Arabic language due to Mediterranean trade and Arab bookkeeping, further corroborating the word tariffs comes from the Arabic language. 

The WSJ further states that the word 'taarifa' later took hold in Italian due to trade in maritime areas such as Venice, and other Romance languages followed suit, paving the way for it to be used in Spanish and French.

Records show the word "tarif" entered the English language at the end of the 16th century, following its use in Italian before the English spelling of tariff was adopted. 

Tariffs have been widely used in US politics, most notably during the Tariff Act of 1789 which allowed the country to pay off the Revolutionary War debt by putting taxes on imports. 

Trump recently described tariff as "the most beautiful word in the dictionary".