A tariff (关税 guānshuì) is a tax on imports or exports between sovereign states (主权国家 zhǔquán guójiā). A sovereign state is a nation that owns one centralized government that has the power to govern permanent population in a defined territory and possesses the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. 关 as in Customs (海关 hǎiguān) and as in ‘close the door’ (关门 guānmén). 税 as in taxation 税收 (shuìshōu).
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