Did you mention the correct independent variable
- the substance's properties (such as solubility,
conductivity, and state of matter)?
yes
did you mention the correct dependent variable -
the type of bond, ionic or covalent?
no

answer: any goods being imported from another country may be subject to issued by the federal government are tariffs

explanation:  

tariffs are a tax on anything that are imported from abroad. government use them to protect and boost their local industries and the thought is that they encourage consumers to buy local instead of importing and they will hope will protect jobs and economy in the country that implements them