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# Duties on Importation

## Definition

Taxes or tariffs imposed by government on foreign goods entering the domestic market, intended to protect domestic producers from foreign competition by raising the price of imported goods. These duties reduce consumer choice and raise prices while providing artificial protection to less efficient domestic producers.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 8

## Context

Smith examines how import duties function as the primary tool for discouraging imports within the mercantile system. He demonstrates how these taxes benefit protected producers while harming consumers and preventing the natural advantages of international division of labour from being realised.

## Economic Domain

Regulation

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