# Customs Duties ## Definition Taxes imposed on goods imported from foreign countries, which historically were intended to tax the profits of merchants but now serve primarily as a source of revenue and sometimes as instruments of monopoly or trade regulation. ## Source Chapter Book V, Chapter 2 ## Context Smith traces the history of customs duties from their origins as taxes on merchant profits to their current role in revenue generation, and critiques their use as instruments of monopoly rather than revenue. ## Economic Domain General Theory ---