How Tariffs Work, Explained: Who Pays, Who Collects

As radical increases in US tariffs begin to redefine the country’s trading relationships, American consumers are getting a crash course in how taxes on imports work. Here are the basics.

Technically, a tariff, also known as a duty, is a tax to be paid on either an import or an export, but almost always the former. It is usually calculated as a percentage of a good’s value (as declared during the customs clearance process) and assigned according to the item’s country of origin or category of good or material.