I thought the Southerners had to pay it to import????????????
The tariff was on foreign imports. Since the south's economy was not diversified due to slavery, its consumers were paying higher prices at the retailers but they didn't get much help for their industries, which was mostly cotton. On top of that the British were more reluctant to buy southern cotton. The issue was resolved in 1853 or so when the Congress lowered tariffs to a level acceptable to the south.
Moral of the story: Tariffs are bad. Tariffs and slavery...two huge mistakes of the Constitution. Free Trade is always the best.