what is a quota 
a quota is a government imposed trade restriction that limits the number or monetary value of goods that a country can import or export during a particular period countries use quotas in international trade to help regulate the volume of trade between them and other countries countries sometimes impose quotas on specific products to reduce imports and increase domestic production in theory quotas boost domestic production by restricting foreign competition government programs that implement quotas are often referred to as protectionism policies additionally governments can enact these policies if they have concerns over the quality or safety of products arriving from other countries investopedia sabrina jiang