Import Surcharge

Import Surcharge and the GATT Policy Negotiations

In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of Import Surcharge: A temporary tax on imports over and above established tariffs, usually enacted in times of economic crisis. The United States, for example, imposed a 10 percent import surcharge when the dollar-gold linkage was severed in 1971. The Tokyo Round Framework Agreement legitimized use of surcharges for balance-of- payments purposes, provided they do not provide special protection for particular products and do not discriminate among individual exporting countries.