Ad valorem tariffs and customs valuation: implications for the stability and predictability of national revenue from tariffs

Revenue is essential to providing public goods and services. It is a central component of financing sustainable development goals (SDGs) among the United Nations (UN).
This dissertation investigates the adoption of ad valorem tariffs in association with the WTO rules on customs valuation for countries’ revenue needs. In this regard, the dissertation takes a critical view of the WTO policies on the use of ad valorem tariffs and setting customs valuation rules based on free market assumptions.
Countries lacking the capacity to check declared import prices, unknown export prices, regulated markets, and an increasing importance of services in the value of traded goods are some elements that must be considered when debating the pros and cons of tariffs.
The social and economic relevance of the revenue function of tariffs is thus the understanding that certain types of tariffs can result in risks for countries in need of the revenue resources.