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ANSWER: Governments charge duties and taxes on most goods that cross their borders. Duties and taxes provide revenue as well as a means of protecting the nation's industry and ensuring a level playing field against foreign industry. Duty is normally due when goods are entered across a country's border. The duty and tax amount may be based on:
- Commodity value
- Trade agreements
- Country of manufacture
- Use of the article
- Commodity HS number
To find the current official duty and tax rates for your products in a specific country, the best source is the country's Customs authority. Tariff and tax information is also available from the CITD Trade Information Database section on US/Foreign Import Duties. For rates on agricultural products, see WTO Tariff Schedules. For rates in member countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), see the APEC Tariff Database. For more information, see the document entitled Tariff and Tax Information, which contains information on the tariff services available from the federal government and from the private sector, tariff information for countries with a single tariff rate, and how gifts are handled for several countries.
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