ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Bound tariff rate

A bound tariff rate is like a promise. Imagine your mommy promising you that she will give you a cookie after dinner, but only one cookie. This is like a promise made by a country to limit the amount of tax (tariff) they will charge on goods that come from other countries.

Just like your mommy promising you only one cookie, a country promises to charge only a certain amount of tax on goods from other countries. They promise not to charge any more than this amount, and this is called the bound tariff rate. This promise helps to make sure that other countries can plan ahead and know how much tax they will have to pay when they trade with that country.

So, the bound tariff rate is like a promise to limit the amount of tax charged on goods from other countries, and it helps everyone to know what to expect when they trade with that country.