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. Quotas are typically used to regulate the volume of trade between countries and to benefit the producers of a good in that economy (protectionism) . There are different types of quotas, such as import quotas, which set a physical limit on the quantity of a good that can be imported into a country in a given period of time.
In addition to government-imposed quotas, there are also quota share programs, which prescribe a specified number or percentage of the allotment as a whole quota that is assigned to each individual entity. For example, the Japanese government may impose a quota share program to determine the number of cars each Japanese car manufacturer may export to the United States.
Quotas can also be used in other contexts, such as in sales. A sales quota is a set amount of sales or other actions that an individual or team must meet in a certain period.
