import deposit

import deposit

a sum of money paid to the government by importers of a specified good on arrival of the good in the country prior to its eventual sale. Import deposits are used primarily to discourage imports as a means of protecting a country's BALANCE OF PAYMENTS.

import deposit

the requirement that importers of a product (see IMPORT) pay to the government a specified sum of money (calculated as a percentage of the value of the product) on arrival of the product in the domestic market prior to its eventual sale. Import deposits are used primarily as a means of assisting in the removal of a BALANCE OF PAYMENTS deficit. See BALANCE OF PAYMENTS EQUILIBRIUM, IMPORT RESTRICTIONS.