What Is a Customs Duty?
The importer is the business or person who brings the goods in; who ends up carrying the cost is a different question called incidence.
Video coming soon. The lesson video will appear here once it is published on YouTube.
Check yourself: sample questions
Think about each question, pick what you would answer if you like, then select “Show answer” to see the solution and why. Nothing is graded or sent to us. Example numbers are worked examples, not predictions.
1.Who pays the customs duty at the border in the US?
The importer is the business or person who brings the goods in; who ends up carrying the cost is a different question called incidence.
2.What is the difference between ad valorem and specific duties?
A specific duty of 30 per bike is 15 percent on a bike valued at 200 but 30 percent on a bike valued at 100, while a percentage duty grows with the price.
3.Marge pays a duty of 30 per bike. In case A shoppers do not mind and she raises the price to 290. Who carries the duty?
Each bike costs Marge 200 at the border and she sells it for 260; customs bills her 30 per bike, and in case A the higher price of 290 shifts all of it to Leo.
Full course: 4 more questions for this lesson
The full course unlocks all self-check questions of all 365 lessons, the daily plan, your progress and the printable learning record. Lessons 1 to 7 are completely free.
See the full course Start the free week
Already bought? Open the course on this device
Sources (7)
- WTO Glossary, Tariffs
- US Customs and Border Protection, Tips for New Importers and Exporters
- OpenStax, Principles of Economics 3e, 5.3 Elasticity and Pricing
- Amiti, M., Redding, S. J., Weinstein, D. E. (2019), The Impact of the 2018 Tariffs on Prices and Welfare, Journal of Economic Perspectives 33(4), 187-210
- Cavallo, A., Gopinath, G., Neiman, B., Tang, J. (2021), Tariff Pass-Through at the Border and at the Store, American Economic Review: Insights 3(1), 19-34
- WTO, World Tariff Profiles 2026
- Eigene Berechnung (Modellprodukt
Education only. Not financial advice.