Duty

A duty is an indirect tax applied to imports and exports based on the value of the product being shipped. Duties applied to imported products are called import or customs duties, while duties applied to locally produced exports are called export duties.

When calculating duty tax, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will consider the value of the product, its weight, dimensions, the type of product, and the country of origin for imports. Shippers must account for duty taxes when calculating international shipping costs, as they are separate from other mandatory fees, such as entry processing fees.

Aside from import and export duties, there are three additional types of duties that shippers and anyone else involved in importing and exporting goods should know about. These are:

• Excise duty – a tax imposed on goods considered to be luxury items or that are subject to quotas 
• Countervailing duty – a tax imposed on imports to protect domestic producers from foreign producers undercutting local product values
• Antidumping duty – a tax imposed to protect domestic producers when there is evidence of product dumping in the exporting country