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Import

An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country.[3] Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade.[4] Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receiving of goods or services produced in another country.[5] The seller of such goods and services is called an exporter, while the foreign buyer is known as an importer.[6]

For other uses, see Import and export.

In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited by import quotas and mandates from the customs authority.[7] The importing and exporting jurisdictions may impose a tariff (tax) on the goods.[8] In addition, the importation and exportation of goods are subject to trade agreements between the importing and exporting jurisdictions.

An import of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a non-resident to a resident; this does not necessarily imply that the good in question physically crosses the frontier. However, in specific cases, national accounts impute changes of ownership even though in legal terms no change of ownership takes place (e.g. cross border financial leasing, cross border deliveries between affiliates of the same enterprise, goods crossing the border for significant processing to order or repair). Also, smuggled goods must be included in the import measurement.

Imports of services consist of all services rendered by non-residents to residents. In national accounts any direct purchases by residents outside the economic territory of a country are recorded as imports of services; therefore all expenditure by tourists in the economic territory of another country are considered part of the imports of services. Also, international flows of illegal services must be included.

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Imports consist of transactions in goods and services to a resident of a jurisdiction (such as a nation) from non-residents.[9] The exact definition of imports in national accounts includes and excludes specific "borderline" cases.[10] Importation is the action of buying or acquiring products or services from another country or another market other than own. Imports are important for the economy because they allow a country to supply nonexistent, scarce, high cost, or low-quality certain products or services, to its market with products from other countries.


A general delimitation of imports in national accounts is given below:


Basic trade statistics often differ in terms of definition and coverage from the requirements in the national accounts:

Industrial and consumer goods

Intermediate goods and services

Export function

Importation right

List of countries by imports

General Procedure of Import Trade

in World Bank's World Integrated Trade Solution

World imports by country