import duty

Duty

A tax that a country imposes on its imports and, occasionally, exports. A duty exists to make an import more expensive and to thereby encourage people to buy goods produced in their own country. Proponents of their use argue that duties discourage outsourcing of jobs to other countries and make the country more self-sufficient, but most economists agree that they are economically inefficient and some contend that they may ultimately harm the people they are intended to help. A duty is also called a tariff. See also: WTO, International trade, Globalization.

Farlex Financial Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All Rights Reserved

import duty

a TAX levied by the government on imported products (see TARIFFS) as a means of protecting domestic industries from foreign competition, in order to assist the country's BALANCE OF PAYMENTS and to raise revenue for the government. See PROTECTIONISM.

Collins Dictionary of Business, 3rd ed. © 2002, 2005 C Pass, B Lowes, A Pendleton, L Chadwick, D O’Reilly and M Afferson

import duty

a TAX levied by the government on imported products (see IMPORT). Import duties are used to raise revenue for the government and as a means of protecting

Collins Dictionary of Economics, 4th ed. © C. Pass, B. Lowes, L. Davies 2005