Import Duty

An import duty is a charge or a fee that is placed upon items that are being imported into the United States. Often, imports are brought in through businesses or private companies; when it comes to shipments of items being brought into the United States, they have to go through customs to get clearance for entrance into the U.S. To do this, the proper paperwork must be filled out in order for the import to even be cleared.

Once an import is cleared, there is an estimated fee that is placed upon the imports that are being brought into the United States. There are different ways in which these charges can be placed on the items, depending on what system is used.

In a specific charging system, all items would be charged the same amount in order to be allowed into the nation; in a revenue system, the items that are not easily accessible in the nation are charged a higher rate, in order to secure a revenue for the nation, and to allow for the goods to be sold at a higher price.

Imports into the United States are given a value when the paperwork is processed, and the value must be paid in order for the imports to be allowed inside the borders. In some cases, individuals can also incur import duty fees, because of the amount of items purchased during a trip.


However, duties can also be charged to exports; exports are items that are being sent out of the country to various other nations for trade or distribution; the charging of exports is a less frequent occurrence.

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