Plain-English definitions of the freight, customs, warehousing, and trade language importers run into, with notes on why each one matters when you are actually moving goods.
225 terms in this group.
The ability of one country or region to produce a given item using fewer resources than another can. It is the simplest measure of production efficiency between trading partners, and it says nothing on its own about which country should specialize in what.
Total spending by a country's households, businesses, and government on goods and services, whether produced at home or imported. When a country absorbs more than it produces, the gap shows up as a current account deficit.
A Canada Border Services Agency system that lets importers and brokers submit release data electronically around the clock instead of presenting paper at the border. Sending shipment data machine-to-machine cuts handling time and speeds release of qualifying cargo.
Why it matters. If you move goods into Canada, electronic release is the normal path and paper is the exception. Data quality at submission determines whether a shipment releases on arrival or waits for correction.
A provision in a trade agreement that phases import duties down to zero on a published schedule, sometimes moving faster than the original timetable when the parties agree. Rates step down by tariff line over a defined transition period rather than dropping all at once.
Why it matters. Duty rates under an agreement are a moving target, not a fixed number. A product that carried duty at the time you costed it may be duty-free by the time you ship, which is worth checking before you set landed cost.
Tariff Refund Calculator →Agreement to the terms of an offer, forming a binding contract. Agreement must be unqualified; a reply that changes any material term is a counteroffer rather than an acceptance, though trivial changes may not defeat it.
Short-term funding where a bank or acceptance house pays a seller against shipping documents that prove goods have been sold and dispatched. The seller gets cash before the buyer settles.
Why it matters. Acceptance financing lets an exporter offer credit terms without carrying the receivable, which can win business from buyers who will not pay up front.
A letter of credit that pays against a time draft drawn on a nominated bank, alongside the other documents it calls for. The bank accepts the draft and pays at maturity rather than on presentation.
A bill of exchange the drawee has signed across its face, committing to pay the stated amount when it falls due. Signing converts an instruction to pay into an enforceable promise.
The bank that signs a time draft and takes on the obligation to pay it at maturity. It is named as drawee first and becomes acceptor only once it signs.
Whoever signs a draft or similar obligation and thereby takes on the duty to pay the face amount when it matures.
The route by which a country joins an existing multilateral trade body, most often the WTO. Membership is negotiated: the applicant commits to specific obligations before it can claim the benefits other members enjoy.
Goods attached to other goods so that they become part of them, such as chips fitted into a computer or components built into a vehicle. The term is also used for a country's adoption of a treaty already concluded by others.
Fees for work a carrier performs beyond moving freight from origin to destination, billed on top of the line haul rate.
Why it matters. Accessorials are where quoted rates and final invoices diverge. Liftgate, detention, residential delivery, and reconsignment are all billed after the fact, so compare all-in landed cost rather than base rate.
Cubeship Services →Extra services a carrier provides alongside carriage itself, such as pickup, delivery, storage, cash collection, or signature capture. Each is priced separately from the freight rate.
An unintended event that the insured neither planned nor made inevitable. Cargo policies are written to respond to chance events, not to outcomes that were certain to occur.
A favor one party does for another without receiving anything in return, most often lending its name or credit standing to help the other raise funds. The accommodating party is generally treated like a surety and can be held to the obligation, with the absence of payment being what separates it from an ordinary guarantee.
Settling a contract dispute by agreeing to substitute new obligations for the original ones and then performing them. The agreement is the accord; carrying it out is the satisfaction, and together they discharge the original claim.
Why it matters. When a supplier cannot meet a specification, a documented substitution at an agreed price closes the matter cleanly. An informal side agreement does not, and it tends to resurface as a chargeback.
A reference a carrier assigns to a shipper or consignee so that bookings, invoices, and traffic history all tie back to the same party.
The party that asks its bank to open a letter of credit, normally the buyer or importer. The credit is issued on this party's account and its instructions set the terms.
Money a business owes suppliers for goods or services bought on credit, carried as a current liability until it is paid.
Money customers owe a business for goods or services bought on credit, carried as a current asset until collected.
The point at which a duty under a contract becomes due and the obligated party has to perform. A contract that names a delivery date fixes accrual on that date; otherwise it turns on the triggering event the parties agreed, such as payment in full.
Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance. A charter arrangement in which the lessor supplies the aircraft together with its flight crew, upkeep, and hull and liability cover, while the lessee pays for fuel, airport charges, and other variable operating costs.
Why it matters. ACMI is how carriers add capacity quickly during peak season or a demand spike. For shippers, it explains why an air booking can be flown by an aircraft in someone else's livery.
The purchase of a controlling or complete interest in one company by another.
The abbreviation for the Accelerated Commercial Release Operation Support System, the Canada Border Services Agency's electronic release platform.
A natural event no person could prevent or control, such as an earthquake, flood, lightning strike, or hurricane. Carriage and performance contracts commonly excuse a party whose failure was caused by one, usually through a force majeure clause.
Why it matters. An Act of God excuses performance; it does not pay for your cargo. That is what marine cargo insurance is for, and the distinction matters when a typhoon closes a transshipment port.
A claim brought because a party broke a promise the contract actually contains, whether stated outright or implied by it.
A claim arising from a wrongful act rather than from a promise written into the contract, such as fraud or breach of a duty the contract gives rise to without stating. A seller who represents that goods suit a particular use owes that duty even where the contract is silent.
A costing method that gathers every cost tied to a particular activity, cutting across departments rather than following the organization chart. It can be applied to making, moving, storing, or servicing a product.
Why it matters. Activity-based costing is how you find out what a SKU actually costs to land and hold, rather than what an averaged freight allocation says it costs. Slow-moving, bulky items usually look far worse under it, and that is the point.
Dimensions Calculator →A cargo loss where the goods are destroyed, are permanently beyond the insured's reach, or arrive so damaged that they are no longer the commodity insured. Cement delivered as solid rock and fabric delivered as rags are the standard illustrations, sometimes described as a loss of specie.
The carrier half of the U.S. Importer Security Filing program, commonly written as the 2 in 10+2. Ocean carriers must transmit a vessel stow plan and container status messages to CBP, separately from the ten data elements the importer files.
Why it matters. The carrier elements are not your filing, but a carrier failure still delays your container. Knowing the split helps you direct a hold inquiry at the right party instead of your broker.
Extensions to a cargo policy covering losses from events such as explosion, earthquake, storm, flood, burst pipes, riot, strike, civil unrest, and deliberate damage. Also called special perils.
The address a person or organization has formally registered as its official location for notices and correspondence.
A standard-form agreement offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, where one side sets all the terms and the other can only accept or walk away. Carrier bills of lading and terminal tariffs are everyday examples.
Why it matters. Most transport documents you sign are adhesion contracts, which is why the liability limits printed on the back matter so much. If those limits are unacceptable for a given shipment, insurance is the remedy, not negotiation.
Bill of Lading Terms →The person who investigates an insurance claim and settles it. An adjuster may work for the insurer, for an adjusting firm, or independently under contract.
In general use, a seller's refund or replacement for goods lost or damaged. In insurance, the process of reviewing a claim to decide how far the loss, damage, or delay falls within the policy, and paying the insured accordingly.
U.S. programs offering funding, retraining, and technical help to workers, firms, and industries hurt by rising import competition. The aim is either to restore competitiveness in the same line of work or to support a shift into different activity.
An order shielding confidential business information submitted during an administrative proceeding. The Department of Commerce uses APOs heavily in antidumping and countervailing duty cases to stop opposing counsel from disclosing the data, and similar orders appear in export control enforcement.
The body of law governing maritime matters, covering both civil and criminal questions that arise at sea or in connection with shipping.
A court with jurisdiction over maritime disputes, typically hearing matters involving ocean carriage, vessel collisions, charter parties, and cargo damage.
French for temporary admission: bringing goods into a country's customs territory duty-free on the condition that they leave again. The ATA Carnet is the international document built around this principle.
Why it matters. Trade show samples, testing equipment, and professional gear can usually enter and leave without duty if handled as temporary admission. Entering them as ordinary imports pays duty you will not get back easily.
The full name behind the ATA Carnet, an international customs document that lets qualifying goods enter participating countries duty-free and tax-free for up to a year, provided they are re-exported unchanged. It replaces separate entry paperwork and duty deposits in each country visited.
Why it matters. One carnet covers a whole tour of markets, which is why it suits trade show stock, samples, and equipment travelling with staff. It does not cover goods intended for sale or consumption.
The European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, known by its French initials. Developed through the UN Economic Commission for Europe, it sets classification, packing, labelling, documentation, and vehicle rules for hazardous goods moving by road in Europe, and it is revised on a regular cycle.
Why it matters. ADR governs the road legs of a European move, while IMDG covers the sea leg and IATA the air leg. A shipment that is compliant for one mode is not automatically compliant for the next.
The number displayed on the upper half of an orange plate on ADR vehicles, identifying the nature and severity of the hazard. Also called the Kemler Code, it pairs with the UN number shown beneath it, and a repeated digit signals an intensified hazard.
A short-term loan a seller's bank extends once the buyer has accepted a draft, giving the seller funds before the buyer actually pays. If payment never arrives, the seller still has to repay the bank.
Why it matters. This accelerates cash without transferring the buyer's credit risk away from you. Read it as a loan secured by the draft, not as a sale of the receivable.
Prior clearance with the carrier required before certain cargo can be tendered, covering categories such as precious metals and stones, furs, live animals, human remains, and oversized pieces.
Why it matters. These commodities are not simply booked, they are approved. Tendering without prior arrangement usually means the cargo is refused at the terminal.
The Canada Border Services Agency requirement that cargo data be transmitted electronically before goods arrive, so that health, safety, and security risks can be assessed in advance. It is Canada's counterpart to advance filing regimes in other markets.
Why it matters. Like ISF in the United States, ACI is a pre-arrival deadline that depends on supplier data reaching you early. Late data is the usual cause of a border hold, not the border itself.
A scam in which the target is persuaded to send money up front to unlock a much larger payment, order, or inheritance that does not exist. In trade it typically appears as an unusually large unsolicited order that requires prepaid fees, certificates, or agent commissions before anything ships.
Why it matters. The trade version targets exporters with a first order too good to refuse. Treat any request to pay a fee before a payment is released as the fraud itself, and verify the buyer independently.
A payment method in which the buyer pays before the goods ship. It is common where the seller has no basis to judge the buyer's creditworthiness.
Why it matters. Advance payment puts all the risk on the buyer and all the security with the seller, which is why new suppliers ask for it. A letter of credit splits that risk more evenly once the relationship justifies the cost.
A countertrade structure in which the buyer pays the seller into a trust account, and those funds are then applied against the seller's future purchases from the buyer.
A written determination from a customs authority telling an importer how a specific product will be classified before it is imported.
Why it matters. A ruling converts a classification judgment call into a binding answer you can rely on and show at audit. It is worth requesting for any product where the rate difference between two plausible headings is material.
Cubeship Customs Support →A message sent to the consignee before goods arrive, setting out what is coming and when. It typically carries ship date, mode, carrier, expected arrival, and a full line-level content list.
Why it matters. The ASN is what lets a warehouse plan labor and dock doors instead of reacting to a truck at the gate. Accurate ASNs are usually a condition of doing business with large retailers.
Cubeship Warehousing →Supply chain methods built on data and automation, including electronic data interchange, barcoding, RFID tagging, just-in-time production and transport, and materials requirements planning.
A U.S. statistical grouping of roughly 500 commodity codes, out of some 22,000, flagged as advanced technology. A code qualifies when it sits in a recognized high technology field, represents leading edge work in that field, and accounts for a meaningful share of the goods the code covers.
A service in which a carrier pays incidental costs arising before or after carriage, such as cartage or storage, and bills them back later. Either party to the shipment may ask for it.
An older term for a trading venture or voyage that puts property at risk from the perils of the sea. It survives mainly in the wording of marine insurance policies.
A bank's written notification to a customer that something has happened on its account or transaction, such as a credit advice, debit advice, or advice of payment. Under a letter of credit, it specifically means the advising bank passing the credit or an amendment on to the seller.
A bank's report on where an outstanding collection stands when it has been neither paid nor formally refused.
A letter of credit whose terms have been passed to the seller through an advising bank, which checks its apparent authenticity without taking on any obligation to pay.
Why it matters. Advising is not confirming. An advised credit still leaves you exposed to the issuing bank and its country; a confirmed credit adds a second bank's promise.
The bank, usually in the seller's country, that receives a letter of credit or an amendment from the issuing bank and forwards it to the beneficiary. It verifies apparent authenticity but does not undertake to pay unless it also confirms.
A U.S. interagency body, chaired by the Commerce Department, that settles disputes over export licensing decisions. Defense, Energy, Justice, State, arms control staff, and the intelligence agencies take part, and anything ACEP cannot resolve escalates on a set timetable to the cabinet-level Export Administration Review Board.
A 45-member panel appointed by the U.S. President, serving two-year terms, that advises on trade policy and on the conduct of trade negotiations.
A company in one country that another country's owner controls, directly or through intermediaries. U.S. statistics set the threshold at a 10 percent voting interest, or the equivalent stake in an unincorporated business including a branch. Outbound holdings are reported as foreign affiliates and inbound ones as U.S. affiliates.
For U.S. reporting purposes, the chain of foreign ownership around a foreign parent: the parent itself, each foreign owner above it holding a majority stake up to the top of the chain, and each foreign entity below it that the level above majority-owns.
An agreement under which a carrier undertakes to move a shipper's goods by sea or air. It can cover one modest consignment or the hire of a whole vessel, and the bill of lading or air waybill is the usual evidence that it exists.
The formal name for the carriage agreement between shipper and carrier for goods moving by sea or air. Transport documents such as bills of lading and air waybills evidence it.
Average Freight Rate Assessment, the benchmark scale used to price crude oil tanker charters. It groups tankers into standard size bands and publishes an assessed rate for each, giving the market a common reference point.
A crude oil tanker of roughly 80,000 to 119,000 deadweight tons. It is the largest band in the AFRA rate scale, and its size suits ports that cannot take the very largest tankers.
A development bank founded in 1963 that lends to African member states, principally to fund the foreign currency portion of projects it has approved. Its membership covers more than fifty African countries.
An independent U.S. government corporation, operating since 1984, that funds community-level and grassroots organizations across Africa.
The continental body that succeeded the Organization of African Unity, launched at the 2002 Durban Summit. The OAU had been founded in 1963 by 32 states to pursue African unity, coordinate policy across political, economic, cultural, scientific, and defense matters, and end colonial rule.
The group of developing countries that received preferential access to European markets under the Lome Convention and the arrangements that followed it.
Toward the stern, meaning the rear of a ship or aircraft.
Wording on a draft that counts the maturity period from the day the draft was drawn. A draft marked 60 days after date falls due 60 days from drawing, so the due date is fixed regardless of when it is accepted.
Wording on a draft that starts the clock when the draft is presented to the drawee. Marked 30 days after sight, payment falls due a month from presentation rather than from drawing.
The trade in replacement parts, accessories, and consumables that keep a product running once it has been sold, and by extension the resale market for a product no longer made. In securities the word instead means trading that follows an initial public offering.
A free trade pact among Arab Mediterranean states, signed at Rabat on 25 February 2004 by Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco, carrying out the earlier Agadir Declaration.
The legal relationship in which one party, the agent, acts for and can bind another, the principal, within the authority the principal has given. Some jurisdictions recognize it only where a written appointment or power of attorney exists.
A written contract between a manufacturer and a sales agent or distributor. It normally fixes the territory, whether the appointment is exclusive, how commission is calculated, whether the agent is staff or contractor, any stock the agent must hold, and how long the arrangement runs.
Why it matters. Territory and exclusivity clauses outlive the relationship that created them. Get termination rights and post-termination commission settled at signing, because they are close to impossible to renegotiate later.
An agency the law recognizes because a principal allowed a third party to reasonably believe someone was acting for it, even though no authority was actually granted. The principal is then barred from denying the agent's authority.
An agency in which the agent guarantees that buyers it introduces will pay, taking on the credit risk in return for a higher commission.
The U.S. agency running foreign economic and humanitarian assistance programs across developing countries, the former Eastern bloc, and the post-Soviet states. It moved under the Secretary of State in 1999, works through missions in roughly 70 countries, and maintains economic and demographic data on many of them.
A person or company empowered to act for a principal, whose authorized acts bind that principal. A sales representative acts as agent for the seller; in insurance the word usually means someone selling for a single carrier.
An agent appointed to bring or defend legal proceedings for a principal.
A bank acting on behalf of a foreign bank, or the bank that administers a loan within a syndicated credit facility.
A discounted rate offered when a shipper hands a carrier two or more consignments of the same or comparable class together at one time and place.
Why it matters. Tendering several orders as one movement is often cheaper than shipping each as it becomes ready. Holding a few days to combine can pay for itself.
Several consignments from different shippers, all bound for the same consignee, combined and moved as one.
A shipment value the shipper and carrier settle on in advance, used to fix the freight rate and the ceiling on carrier liability.
Why it matters. Declaring a higher value raises the freight rate but lifts the liability cap. For most cargo, insuring separately costs less than buying carrier liability by declared value.
A U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service program that puts American agricultural exporters in touch with overseas buyers, through buyer alerts, trade leads, and directories of foreign buyers and U.S. suppliers.
Artificial intelligence. In freight and customs it now underpins tariff classification support, document extraction from invoices and packing lists, demand and transit forecasting, and exception detection across shipment data.
Why it matters. Classification and document handling are where AI touches import operations first. Treat its output as a draft a licensed broker reviews, since the importer of record still owns the declaration.
Anything carried in an aircraft as freight, express, or mail. Passenger baggage is excluded.
A powered lift vehicle at an airport that raises and lowers unit load devices between the ground and an aircraft hold, serving both freighters and the belly holds of passenger aircraft.
A premium air service sold against a defined time commitment, such as a named flight, next flight out, or overnight delivery. In effect it is air freight with expedited handling.
Carriage of goods by aircraft, excluding mail, express, and passenger baggage. Volumes have grown because air compresses transit time, supports leaner inventory, tends to deliver goods in better condition, and for some high-value commodities lowers total cost despite the higher rate.
Why it matters. Air is priced on the greater of actual and dimensional weight, so low-density cargo can cost far more than its scale weight implies. Run the volumetric calculation before you compare it against ocean.
Dimensions Calculator →A cheaper air service that trades speed for price, moving on longer transit commitments and usually only as space allows.
A forwarder specializing in air cargo, which sits on both sides of the transaction: it takes freight from many shippers under its own tariff and consolidates it, then hands the consolidation to an airline as a single shipper. It is normally classed as an indirect air carrier, though some operate aircraft of their own.
An air service ranked above standard freight at a higher rate, with shipments generally uplifted on the next flight with space.
An informal name for priority mail, the postal service covering first class items over 13 ounces, offering an economical expedited route for parcels moving by air.
The air cargo version of Canada's Pre-Arrival Review System, letting a broker submit release data before the flight lands so the shipment can be assessed and, if cleared, released on arrival.
The transport document for an air consignment. It records the contract of carriage together with the carrier's conditions, including liability limits and how claims must be made, and it carries handling instructions, a goods description, and the charges. Truckers often use it as a through document for combined road and air moves. It is not negotiable.
Why it matters. Because it confers no title, cargo goes to the named consignee whoever holds the paper. A seller relying on document control for payment security needs a different mechanism when shipping by air.
Another name for the air waybill, the transport document covering an air freight consignment.
A thin, flat base, typically under two inches deep, on which air cargo is stacked, netted, and secured so it can be loaded as one unit. Carriers commonly discount palletized loads.
A postal class used only for international mail. Inside the United States the Postal Service already flies first class, priority, and express mail wherever that speeds delivery, so no separate class is needed.
A site where aircraft take off and land. A major international airport combines paved runways, control towers, passenger terminals, hangars, cargo and aircraft servicing facilities, fuel storage, and links to road, rail, and sometimes sea transport.
A U.S. Postal Service site at or beside an airport, handling the exchange of mail directly with air carriers.
The Norwegian designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The Swedish and Finnish designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The designation used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The Danish designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The U.S. bureau regulating the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives trades. Imports in those categories need its permits and licensing on top of ordinary customs entry.
Why it matters. ATF sits alongside CBP as a partner government agency. Its permit is a separate approval, and no customs entry proceeds without it.
A Chinese e-commerce group founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, running consumer, retail, and wholesale marketplaces. Its Alibaba.com portal connects Chinese manufacturers with business buyers worldwide, and the group ranks among the largest retailers anywhere.
Why it matters. Marketplace sourcing hides the factory behind a trading company, which matters for country of origin, valuation, and forced labor screening. Confirm the actual manufacturer before you file the entry.
Capable of being transferred to another party. Interests in real and personal property are ordinarily alienable.
An online and mobile payment platform launched by Alibaba in Hangzhou in 2004 as a Chinese counterpart to PayPal, and by 2013 the largest mobile payment service in the world.
A proportionate share. A court awarding damages aliquot against several parties makes each responsible for its own portion, unlike joint and several liability, where any one party can be pursued for the whole.
One of the twelve traditional marine perils, catching losses that do not fall under the named categories: damage from salt water, oil, sweat, heat, timber worm, livestock starving for want of feed, and similar causes.
Broad cargo cover responding to loss from outside causes such as fire, collision, and pilferage. It still carries exclusions, typically war and strikes, goods that perish of their own nature, and damage traceable to poor packing, decay, or a fall in market value.
Why it matters. All risk is not all losses. Inadequate packing is the exclusion that catches importers most often, and it is the one thing you actually control at origin.
A Canadian national body representing more than 3,500 manufacturers, exporters, and provincial research organizations, lobbying government and supplying members with export research and information.
A credit or refund a seller grants to settle a problem with an order, whether poor packing, goods that miss specification, or late arrival.
Beside the vessel. Goods delivered alongside are placed on the quay or on a lighter close enough for the ship's own gear to pick them up.
Shoreside electrical power supplied to a berthed vessel so it can shut down its auxiliary engines, also called cold ironing. Ports use it to cut emissions at the quayside, and some jurisdictions now require it.
A carrier tariff carrying more than one rate between the same points for the same goods, where the lower resulting charge may be applied.
Any addition, deletion, or alteration made to a legal document after it has been issued.
A leading U.S. trade association for companies engaged in international trade, working both as an advocate for open trade and as a member resource across compliance, trade facilitation, product safety, and supply chain security.
The nonprofit corporation that carries out U.S. representation in Taiwan in place of an embassy. When Washington shifted formal recognition to the People's Republic of China in 1979, the Institute was authorized to maintain commercial, cultural, and other ties.
The body of voluntary product standards issued by the American National Standards Institute.
The organization that develops and publishes voluntary U.S. product standards, including guidance on unit load and transport package dimensions. It also carries significant weight within the ISO.
A currency option exercisable at any point between issue and expiry, unlike a European option, which can only be exercised on the expiry date itself.
Why it matters. Importers use currency options to cap the cost of a foreign-currency payable without giving up a favorable move. The added flexibility of American style carries a higher premium.
A consolidated file of U.S. Commercial Service domestic client records, used by overseas posts to build mailing lists for trade promotion.
A CBP program begun in 1998, building on the Carrier Initiative Program and the Business Anti-Smuggling Coalition, that helps companies design security measures to stop legitimate shipments being exploited for narcotics smuggling or terrorism. CBP teams visit participating countries several times a year to run site surveys and hands-on training.
At the middle of a vessel. Motion is least there, so shippers sometimes ask that fragile cargo be stowed amidships.
Writing an amount down step by step over time, whether paying off a debt on a schedule or reducing the book value of a fixed asset.
A laboratory document stating the composition or purity of a consignment, issued by the producer or an independent laboratory. Buyers and regulators require it for foods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and similar goods.
Why it matters. Where a certificate of analysis is required, it is an entry condition, not paperwork that can follow. Missing it holds the shipment at the border.
Additional or supporting, as in an ancillary charge added to a base freight rate.
Ground equipment used to build up palletized air loads or to move a unit load device to and from an aircraft.
A Latin American bloc formed in 1969 to deepen economic integration among mid-sized economies, with Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela as members. It is now known as the Andean Community.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture agency that inspects and certifies animals, plants, and derived products moving in or out of the country, and that also audits processing facilities both domestically and in exporting countries.
Why it matters. APHIS requirements attach to more products than people expect, including wood packaging, plant-based materials, and animal by-products. Its clearance is separate from the customs entry and gates it.
Purpose-built containers for moving livestock or pets, designed for ventilation and protection. Air travel for household animals drove their development, and many carriers sell or rent them.
A certificate from an official or approved authority confirming that an animal has been examined or tested and shows no disease or pests beyond anything noted on it. It is normally required to import or export animals of any kind, from pets to breeding stock.
Scaling figures covering less than a year up to a full-year estimate. Doing it properly means allowing for seasonal swings rather than simply multiplying.
The abbreviation for the American National Standards Institute.
The dominant electronic data interchange standard in the United States, setting the message formats trading partners use to exchange purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, and status updates. UN/EDIFACT plays the same role in much of the rest of the world.
Why it matters. Retailer EDI compliance is usually an X12 requirement, and chargebacks for malformed or late messages are routine. Confirm which message set and version a partner expects before onboarding.
A proposed multilateral treaty setting international standards for enforcing intellectual property rights, aimed at counterfeit goods, generic medicines, and online infringement. It would have created a governing body separate from the WTO, WIPO, and the United Nations.
U.S. legislation aimed at imports sold below the price they fetch in their home market. Treasury determined whether goods were entering at less than fair value, and where domestic industry was found to be injured, additional duties could follow.
A duty imposed to offset the margin by which imported goods are sold below normal value. Normal value is usually the price in the exporter’s home market, but where those sales are absent or unusable it can be built from sales to a third country or constructed from cost of production plus expenses and profit.
Why it matters. AD rates can dwarf the ordinary duty and are assessed by producer, not just by product and country. Scope rulings decide whether your specific goods fall inside an order, so check scope before you commit to a supplier.
Cubeship Customs Support →Cash CBP collects at entry as estimated antidumping duty on goods from countries covered by an existing order. What is finally owed is settled at liquidation, which may be more or less than the deposit.
Why it matters. The deposit is an estimate, not a settlement. A rate raised at review is billed retroactively, so treat open AD entries as an unresolved liability until they liquidate.
A filing made for a U.S. industry claiming that imports are being sold below fair value and that those sales injure, threaten, or hold back the establishment of that industry.
A module of the legacy U.S. Automated Commercial System holding a case reference database, plus statistical reporting that fed the trade remedy figures published on duties assessed and collected.
A cargo rating applied to an article whatever its weight, with no weight breaks.
Wording on a transport document recording that goods showed no visible damage when the carrier received them. It speaks only to what an external check could reveal, not to contents or concealed condition.
Why it matters. A clean bill of lading is often a condition of payment under a letter of credit. Once the carrier annotates damage, the bill becomes claused and banks may refuse the documents.
An application to a court or administrative body asking it to review a decision and grant relief.
The party making a formal request, and under a letter of credit specifically the buyer who asks its bank to issue the credit.
An officer empowered by a customs authority to inspect imported goods and fix their value for duty purposes.
A rise in one currency's value measured against another.
Why it matters. When the currency you buy in appreciates against your own, landed cost rises without anything changing in the freight or the duty. Long lead times widen that exposure.
A route for handling discrepant documents under a letter of credit: with the beneficiary's consent, the nominated bank sends them to the issuing bank and asks whether it will accept them despite the faults. Correcting the documents first is usually better, since sending them risks loss in transit and delays payment.
Why it matters. Discrepancies are the normal reason letters of credit fail to pay on time. Fixing the paperwork beats asking the buyer's bank for a waiver, because the waiver is discretionary.
An EU status for exporters shipping preferential-origin goods regularly under trade agreements. Once customs authorities are satisfied they meet the conditions, such exporters may declare origin on the invoice itself and use simplified local clearance.
Why it matters. Approved exporter status removes the per-shipment origin certificate from the critical path. For repeat lanes under an agreement, it is one of the cheapest facilitations available.
Cargo an underwriter regards as low risk, either because of what it is or because it is packed well. The category covers most manufactured and new goods.
In letter of credit practice a tolerance word. Where the credit qualifies an amount, quantity, or unit price with approximately, about, or circa, a variance of up to 10 percent either way is permitted.
Why it matters. Bulk and commodity shipments rarely load to an exact figure. The tolerance wording is what keeps a slight over or under shipment from becoming a discrepancy.
An accessory attached to a principal item of property, fitted for use with it and normally meant to stay permanently attached. A ship's cranes and fixed gear are appurtenances of the vessel.
A regional body founded in March 1945 and headquartered in Cairo, formed to strengthen ties among Arab states. Members span North Africa, the Levant, the Gulf, and the Horn of Africa.
A North African bloc created in February 1989 by Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania, intended to work toward a common market alongside the Gulf Cooperation Council and other states.
The neutral party appointed to hear a dispute and decide it, also called an arbitrator. The appointment comes either from the parties themselves or from an institution named in their contract.
Buying and selling, or borrowing and lending, the same security, currency, or commodity across two or more markets at once to capture the price gap between them.
Arbitrage that exploits a price gap between two locations, dealing in the same instrument in both at the same moment.
Arbitrage that exploits a price gap between different maturity dates for the same instrument, transacting across both at once.
Someone who trades arbitrage positions as a regular business.
Settling a dispute by putting it to a neutral third party for a binding decision, either because the parties choose to or because their contract requires it. The arbitrator is picked by the parties or appointed by an institution.
Why it matters. Cross-border commercial disputes usually go to arbitration rather than to a national court, because awards travel: the New York Convention makes them enforceable in most trading countries.
A contract or policy term routing any dispute to arbitration instead of the courts. Well-drafted versions name the institution and its rules, the seat, the number of arbitrators, and the language.
Why it matters. The clause decides where and under whose rules you would fight, long before any dispute exists. Leaving the seat or institution unnamed is what turns a simple claim into a jurisdictional argument.
A Canadian list of destinations for which an export permit is required for essentially any goods, humanitarian items aside. It is maintained under the Export and Import Permits Act.
A sale in which the seller performs delivery by making the goods available to the buyer at a named place, rather than at origin. Under Incoterms 2020 the DAP, DPU, and DDP rules all work this way.
Why it matters. Under an arrival contract the seller carries risk all the way to the named place, so the exact wording of that place matters. Naming a city rather than a specific address is the usual source of argument.
Incoterms Guide →The message a carrier or forwarder sends the consignee and broker to say when freight is due and when it can be collected.
Why it matters. The arrival notice starts the clock that matters: free time, and the 15-day window before cargo goes to general order. Treat it as an action trigger, not an FYI.
Imported goods placed into a bonded warehouse on which duty has not yet been paid.
Commodities classed as high value, which carriers handle under special security and care conditions.
British usage for a tractor unit pulling a trailer or semi-trailer, the equivalent of a tractor-trailer in North America.
Software able to do work that has usually needed human judgment: reading natural language, finding patterns in data, deciding under incomplete information, and improving from experience.
A sale offering goods in their present state at their present location, with no warranty as to quality or condition and no recourse against the seller.
Why it matters. Buying as is puts inspection entirely on you, and where is puts the freight and any export formalities on you too. Price the collection and clearance before you judge the discount.
A forum of 21 Pacific Rim economies, secretariat in Singapore, that brings ministers together on trade and economic questions. It works by consensus and produces non-binding commitments rather than a treaty.
A regional development bank established in 1966 and based in Manila, funding economic growth and cooperation across its Asian membership.
The quoted selling price for a security or a commodity.
A marine policy term covering theft carried out by force, as distinct from stealthy theft or petty pilferage, which need separate cover.
An airline service that gathers consignments from many shippers and moves them together to a single receiver.
The act of imposing antidumping duty on imported goods and fixing the amount owed.
Everything of value a person or business holds, including cash and deposits, notes and securities, real estate, receivables, raw materials, parts and finished stock, fixtures and machinery, intellectual property, goodwill, and leases.
To transfer a right, interest, or item of property to another party.
The party receiving a right or property in an assignment.
Passing rights, title, interest, and benefits under a contract or an instrument across to someone else.
An instruction under a letter of credit directing that some or all of the money due to the beneficiary be paid to a third party instead. It transfers the money, not the right to perform, so the beneficiary still has to present conforming documents.
Why it matters. This is how a trader pays its own supplier out of the buyer's credit without transferring the credit itself. If the beneficiary never ships, the assignee receives nothing.
The party transferring a right or property in an assignment.
Anything an importer supplies to a foreign producer free or below cost for use in making goods destined for the United States: tooling, dies, moulds, materials, components, engineering, artwork, or design work done outside the country.
Why it matters. Assists must be added to the declared value even though no money changed hands for them, and leaving them out understates duty. Tooling paid for once but used across many shipments is where importers most often get this wrong.
Cubeship Customs Support →A regional grouping founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to advance political, economic, and social cooperation. Brunei followed in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar two years later, and Cambodia at the end of the decade.
Why it matters. ASEAN membership underpins the tariff preferences and cumulation rules that make regional sourcing shifts workable. It matters when you are moving production between Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
An undertaking the law implies where none was written, obliging one party to perform or pay another. Hiring someone with no agreed rate implies a duty to pay a reasonable wage; receiving money belonging to another implies a duty to hand it over.
British usage for insurance, still seen in marine policy wording and in the terms assured and assurer.
A commitment given to satisfy the other side of a contract that performance will follow. Pledges, sureties, and performance bonds all serve this purpose.
The person or company covered by a policy.
Behind a vessel or aircraft, toward its rear, or moving backward.
Wording making an instrument payable as soon as it is presented. A bill of exchange drawn at sight falls due on demand, whereas one drawn after sight falls due a set period later.
The state of a call or put option whose underlying price sits at or very close to the strike price.
An international customs document, its name drawn from the French and English for temporary admission, that lets qualifying goods enter participating countries and territories without the usual entry paperwork and without paying duty or VAT. It doubles as a guarantee for any duty and tax that would fall due if the goods were not re-exported, and as a certificate of registration easing their return home. Export licenses, quotas, and visas still apply where relevant.
Why it matters. One document covers a whole itinerary of markets, which suits trade show stock, samples, and professional equipment. It does not cover goods meant to be sold or consumed abroad.
A court order seizing or freezing property before judgment so that any damages later awarded can actually be collected. A claimant may ask the court to block transfers of specific assets while the dispute runs.
A person travelling with cargo to care for it in transit, such as a groom or veterinarian with racehorses or other livestock. Carriers require this to be arranged beforehand.
To agree to render money or goods to a party other than the one originally entitled. After an acquisition, a buyer may ask a supplier holding a contract with the acquired company to attorn, so that supply continues on the same terms.
Someone authorized to act for another in business or non-legal matters, generally or for one defined task. It is a form of agency, and most countries require a written power of attorney to create it.
Why it matters. U.S. customs brokers act under a power of attorney from the importer of record. That document is what lets a broker file on your behalf, and its scope is worth reading.
A formal review of records or documents, most often financial ones.
Why it matters. Customs audits look backward across years of entries, so the record you keep today is the defense you will have later. Classification reasoning, valuation working, and origin evidence are the three files worth maintaining properly.
Certifying that a document is genuine and properly executed, done by someone authorized to attest that it is in correct legal form and signed by a person with authority. Consular officers, notaries, and judicial officers commonly perform it. In computing the word instead means verifying the identity of a user or device before granting access.
An EU trader permitted to receive goods moving under transit at its own premises or another approved site, without first presenting them and a transit declaration at the destination customs office.
An EU trader permitted to begin transit movements at its own premises, with no need to present goods or the transit declaration at the office of departure first.
An enclosed or partly enclosed rail wagon built to move finished vehicles from plants and ports to regional distribution points. Decks adjust between two and three levels to suit different vehicle heights, and it remains the most efficient way to move large volumes of cars overland.
A multi-deck road trailer for moving cars, SUVs, and small vans between plants, distributors, ports, inland distribution centers, and dealers.
The electronic payment channel within the Automated Broker Interface, combining lockbox banking with funds transfer so importers settle estimated duties, taxes, and fees without cash or checks.
Why it matters. ACH debit or credit is how duty actually gets paid, and enrolling in your own name gives you visibility your broker's statement does not. It also avoids financing duty through the broker.
The CBP system that replaced the Automated Commercial System, acting as the single window for U.S. import and export data. It gives CBP and partner agencies a common view across the supply chain to spot and stop high-risk shipments, processes entries nationally rather than port by port, and folds partner agency filings into one transmission.
Why it matters. ACE is where your entry data actually lives, and importers can get their own portal account rather than seeing only what a broker forwards. The ACE reports are the fastest way to audit your own duty spend.
Cubeship Customs Support →The legacy U.S. customs platform, shared between government and trade, that linked customhouses, brokers, importers, and other agencies to the customs computer. ACE has replaced it.
Driverless battery-powered vehicles that follow fixed guide paths under computer control to move materials inside plants and warehouses. Loads range from small totes to very heavy unit loads, and the vehicles can be loaded by hand or automatically.
A component of the legacy Automated Commercial System that let field offices and headquarters share classification and valuation information.
The customs system holding control of imported cargo from the moment a carrier transmits its manifest electronically until that control passes to another part of the entry process.
Why it matters. AMS is where the 24-hour advance manifest rule bites for ocean cargo, and a manifest error is a common cause of a hold that has nothing to do with your entry. Manifest and entry are separate filings by separate parties.
Robotic, computer-directed equipment that stores, retrieves, and dispatches materials, parts, and finished goods in plants and warehouses, using guided vehicles, fixed guideways, and racking with addressable bins. Advanced installations feed production lines, load robotic cells, return finished goods to storage, and stage them at the dock.
A CBP program helping officers pick out shipments likely to conceal narcotics, weapons, or other contraband. It normalizes manifest and entry data into unified shipment records, then scores each against several hundred weighted rules drawn from experienced targeting practice, with higher scores drawing closer attention.
Moving, storing, retrieving, and managing materials through automated systems that run without direct human involvement, used across manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and logistics to raise throughput, cut labor cost, and improve safety. Its main building blocks are automated guided vehicles navigating by floor markings, wire, radio, vision, magnets, or lasers, together with robotic storage and retrieval equipment.
The rule underpinning every letter of credit: the bank pays against the documents as they appear on their face, and its obligation stands apart from the underlying sale. Fraud is the only recognized exception.
Why it matters. Banks deal in documents, not goods. A buyer unhappy with what arrived cannot stop payment under a conforming presentation, and a seller cannot cure bad documents by pointing to a perfect shipment.
How and where a letter of credit may be drawn on: by sight payment, by deferred payment, by acceptance, or by negotiation, and at which bank. The credit must state this.
A guarantee of a bill of exchange, whole or partial, given by signing the draft, usually with wording such as per aval or as guarantor. Where the signature stands alone without explanation, the guarantee is taken to be for the issuer.
A partial loss to a shipment, as opposed to a total one. The word reaches English through the French avarie, meaning harm done to a vessel or its cargo, and before that from an Arabic term for goods spoiled by sea water.
A monthly benchmark of transport cost per ton for tankers in each size band, published by the London Tanker Brokers' Panel. Shell and BP devised it to price movements between their own affiliates and withdrew their sponsorship in 1982, after which the Panel compiled it from concluded open-market fixtures. Tax authorities in many countries accept it for pricing intra-company oil shipments.
Cancelling a contract by law because something has happened that makes performance impossible or grossly unfair, releasing both sides from their obligations.
The everyday weight system built on a 16-ounce pound, with each ounce divided into 16 drams. The name comes from Old French for goods sold by weight.
The decision handed down by a court or an arbitrator.
A single-digit code recording where an ocean container is positioned, used in terminal and carrier systems to track equipment across yard, quay, and inland locations.
162 terms in this group.
Business to business. Trade in goods, services, or information between companies, as opposed to sales from a company to a private individual.
Business to consumer. Trade in goods, services, or information between a company and private individuals, as opposed to trade between companies.
Why it matters. Direct-to-consumer importing changes the customs picture: many parcels, low values, de minimis questions, and returns flowing back across the border. It is a different compliance problem from bulk import.
The return leg of a vehicle from its delivery point back toward where it started, or the load it carries on that leg.
Why it matters. An empty return leg is cost with no revenue, which is why backhaul rates run below headhaul on imbalanced lanes. It is often the cheapest capacity available if your timing is flexible.
A customer order for goods that cannot be filled from stock on hand.
Contracting out administrative work: payroll, invoicing, procurement. The back office covers functions with no direct customer contact, and this is one branch of business process outsourcing.
An arrangement in which a bank introduces a borrower to a lender and the two settle a loan directly between themselves.
A second credit opened for a new beneficiary on the strength of an existing non-transferable credit. A trader holding a credit from its buyer uses it as security with its own bank to issue a matching credit to its supplier.
Why it matters. This is how an intermediary pays a factory without revealing it to the end buyer, or the buyer to the factory. Banks treat the two credits as independent, so the trader carries the gap if the second one pays and the first does not.
Paired loans in different currencies and countries, each offsetting the other, such as a dollar loan in the United States set against a sterling loan in the United Kingdom.
Taking a process back in house after an outside firm has been running it. Contract expiry, weak performance, costs above expectation, customer pushback, instability in the vendor's country, and data security worries are all common triggers.
Acting with intent to mislead or deceive. An honest mistake or careless misstatement does not amount to it.
Goods shipped in sacks rather than cartons, drums, or bulk. Grain, rice, sugar, cement, and resins commonly move this way, and bags are usually palletized or slip-sheeted for handling.
An Arabic word for a gift, used across the Middle East and Southwest Asia for anything from alms and tipping to a facilitation payment for routine paperwork or an outright bribe to sway a decision.
Why it matters. The label does not decide the legal question. Under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, payments to officials create real exposure for the importer regardless of local custom, so route any such request to counsel.
A record of all economic and financial dealings between one country's companies, banks, households, and public bodies and those of the rest of the world across a given period.
The gap between what a country imports and what it exports over a period. Importing more than it exports produces a deficit; exporting more produces a surplus.
A snapshot of what a business owns and owes on a given date, built on the identity that assets equal liabilities plus equity.
A national position in which the value of imports matches the value of exports.
Panama's currency, divided into 100 centesimos. Panama issues balboa coins but no notes, and the U.S. dollar circulates alongside it at par.
A large bundle of goods compressed, strapped, and usually wrapped for transport, as with cotton or wool.
Bulky goods shipped in bales, traditionally wrapped in burlap or similar cloth. Cotton, wool, hides, and waste paper are typical.
Weight carried low in a vessel to correct its trim and keep it stable. Most ships use seawater pumped into dedicated tanks.
A daily index of dry bulk shipping cost published by the Baltic Exchange in London. A panel of shipbrokers submits assessed time-charter hire rates in dollars per day across around twenty benchmark routes, and those are weighted and averaged into the index. Routes span the main vessel classes, with Capesize around 180,000 deadweight tons, Panamax around 82,500, and Supramax around 58,000, covering transatlantic, transpacific, and China trades.
Why it matters. The BDI is widely read as an early indicator of global trade demand, because bulk capacity cannot be added quickly. It tracks raw materials, not containers, so it signals the direction of the wider market rather than your box rate.
A London membership body for the maritime trade, with roughly 600 member firms covering most of the world's shipping interests. It publishes the freight indices the dry bulk and tanker markets price against.
Mexico's principal foreign trade bank, lending across short, medium, and long terms to companies in Mexico's import and export economy, including exporters and their suppliers, importers, and makers of import substitutes.
How much data a communications link can carry in a given time, measured in bits per second. Strictly it describes the frequency range a channel spans, and a wider range carries more data.
An export trading company owned wholly or partly by a banking institution, as the Export Trading Company Act permits.
A check one bank draws against its own funds held on deposit at another bank.
An institution founded in 1930 in Basel to promote cooperation between central banks, develop financial activity between governments, and act as agent in the transfer of payments.
A one-sided undertaking by a bank to pay a beneficiary a stated sum should a third party default on its obligation, or should some other defined trigger event occur.
Why it matters. A guarantee pays on failure, whereas a letter of credit pays on performance evidenced by documents. Which one you want depends on whether you are securing an obligation or paying for goods.
A company that owns or controls, with voting power, more than five percent of the voting shares of one or more banks.
British usage for a public holiday on which banks and government offices close.
Why it matters. Banking days, not calendar days, govern letter of credit presentation deadlines and payment timing. A run of holidays at either end of a transaction can move a due date more than people expect.
Paper currency issued by a central bank, redeemable as money and accepted as full legal tender.
The exchange rate applied when physical currency notes are bought and sold, generally worse than the rate for electronic transfers.
A document a bank issues once it has been paid or has accepted a draft, authorizing the named party to collect the goods.
A private network linking hundreds of banks, used to move funds and exchange messages between members.
A bank set up jointly by independent, unaffiliated banks to act as a clearing house for their transactions.
A draft drawn by a bank on itself, payable on demand. It counts as cash and cannot be returned unpaid.
The condition of a person or company unable to meet debts as they fall due, and the legal process for declaring that state and either discharging or restructuring what is owed. The rules differ sharply between countries.
Why it matters. A supplier or carrier failing mid-voyage leaves your cargo somewhere with charges unpaid. Knowing who holds title and which document controls release is what determines whether you get the goods back.
Parallel bars and spaces of varying width, printed to a standard so a scanner can read data from them. Barcodes identify products, cartons, pallets, assets, locations, and services at every stage of manufacturing and distribution, with EAN and UPC codes on retail goods the most familiar example.
The specific pattern of bars and spaces within a barcode that stands for one letter, digit, or symbol. A sequence of them forms the complete code.
An input device that reads a printed barcode optically and passes the data to a computer. Scanners run throughout the logistics chain, fixed at checkouts and conveyor lines or handheld by drivers at pickup and delivery.
A charter under which the charterer takes the vessel alone and supplies its own master and crew, taking on operation and most running costs.
A flat-bottomed vessel, powered or towed, built to carry dry or liquid bulk and heavy loads, chiefly on rivers and canals. The word also covers unpowered platforms carrying cranes, equipment, and accommodation for offshore work or pipe laying. Small powered craft ferrying cargo between ship and shore are called lighters instead.
Deliberate wrongdoing by a ship's master or crew that causes loss or damage, including theft, intentionally casting the vessel away, and any dishonest breach of trust.
Swapping goods directly for other goods, with no money changing hands and no third party involved.
Heavy cargo stowed low in the hold to help stabilize the vessel, and separately the minimum volume a line needs before calling at a port is commercially worthwhile.
A treaty adopted in 1989 at a UN-sponsored conference of 116 countries in Basel, restricting cross-border movement of hazardous waste and certain non-hazardous wastes, solid wastes, and incinerator ash.
Why it matters. It reaches further than obvious waste shipments, catching scrap, used electronics, and end-of-life returns. Reverse logistics programs that cross borders need to be checked against it.
A rate that exists only as a building block for constructing other rates, not to be charged on its own.
A composite unit whose value derives from several national currencies, each weighted by its share of the whole. The European Currency Unit, superseded by the euro, worked this way, as does the IMF's Special Drawing Right.
Fixed strips on the inside of a hold that hold cargo clear of the vessel's sides, or that cargo can be secured against.
A measure of signalling speed on a data link, commonly quoted alongside bits per second for modems.
Whoever holds a bearer document and is therefore entitled to the funds or the goods it covers on presenting it. Handing a bearer bill of lading to the carrier entitles the holder to the cargo; presenting a check payable to bearer entitles the holder to the money.
A negotiable instrument, document of title, or security payable or transferable on demand to whoever holds it, including one endorsed in blank. Presenting it to the bank or carrier holding the funds or goods entitles the holder to them.
Why it matters. A bearer bill of lading is effectively cash for the cargo. Losing the originals, or couriering all three sets together, is a real risk that a telex release or an electronic bill avoids.
Another name for a bearer document: an instrument payable or transferable to whoever presents it.
An attempt to cut unemployment and lift domestic output by shutting out imports behind higher tariffs and non-tariff barriers, or by devaluing competitively. Countries that tried it in the early 1930s met retaliation, and the resulting loss of export markets deepened the downturn they were reacting to. Smoot-Hawley is the usual illustration.
A cooperative union of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg promoting economic activity between the three. Its committees cover trade relations, farming, commerce, industry, customs matters, and social policy.
A traditional half-hour unit of shipboard time. A watch runs four hours, or eight bells, with the ship's bell struck at each half hour.
The cargo compartments beneath an aircraft cabin, carrying freight alongside passenger baggage.
Why it matters. Most air freight capacity rides in passenger bellies, which is why air rates track passenger schedules. When passenger flying is cut, air freight capacity tightens even though demand has not moved.
Stowage beneath the vessel's highest deck, sheltered from wind and rain and less exposed to temperature swings than deck cargo. Some letters of credit and purchase contracts prohibit carriage on deck outright.
Why it matters. On-deck stowage carries different insurance treatment and higher risk. If your contract or credit requires under-deck carriage, the bill of lading has to evidence it.
A Chinese investment program launched in 2013 to build logistics infrastructure across more than 150 countries. It pairs a land-based Silk Road Economic Belt of road and rail corridors with a maritime route funding port development along major sea lanes. Critics read it as a bid for strategic influence; in practice the visible focus has been infrastructure supporting China trade, with annual investment running into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
A structured way of finding the strongest practices in an industry or in government, then comparing them against your own operations and adapting what fits. The point is to locate better processes and set demanding targets for output, product, and service.
The short name for the economic union of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
An international copyright treaty concluded at Berne, also called the Berne Union and formally titled for the protection of literary and artistic works. It now sits within the World Intellectual Property Organization and secures copyright across its signatory countries.
The position where a ship lies made fast to a wharf, pier, or quay for working cargo. The word also covers the water space a ship needs to manoeuvre safely, and the bay where a truck loads or unloads.
The Belgian and Dutch designation for a private limited company in which shareholder liability is limited.
The processes and systems recognized as delivering the strongest results for a given activity, adopted on the basis that they lift overall performance and efficiency.
The container owner prefix issued by the International Container Bureau. It forms the first four letters of the marking on every ocean container and identifies the operator that owns it.
A guarantee lodged with an international tender, assuring the buyer that the bidder will sign the contract if its bid is accepted.
Datasets too large or fast-moving for conventional tools to capture, store, and analyze, drawn from sources such as transactions, sensors, and online activity, and mined for patterns and associations.
A treaty between two countries protecting each other's investors. It typically grants national or most favored nation treatment, bars performance requirements, allows investors to appoint senior management regardless of nationality, secures the right to move investment-related funds, limits expropriation to what international law permits, and gives access to binding international arbitration.
Government-to-government pacts aimed at winding back state intervention in steel, meaning domestic subsidies and market barriers. The United States concluded a series of them with its major steel trading partners.
Trade flowing between two countries, measured as the exports and imports each sends the other.
An arrangement between two countries governing trade between them, formal or informal. Some set out quantities of particular goods that may move within a defined period.
A written statement of contract terms, an itemized list of what a transaction covers or what is demanded, or a promissory instrument, depending on context.
A written authority one party gives another, historically carried by business travelers, letting the holder draw funds from a bank abroad that corresponds with the issuer.
A signed written order from a drawer, usually the buyer, telling a drawee, usually a bank, to pay a fixed sum to a payee, usually the seller, either on demand or at a determinable future date. It appears mainly in two forms. A draft instructs the drawee to pay a named party, normally for goods or services, and is either a sight draft payable on presentation or a time draft payable at a set or calculable later date. A promissory note instead records the issuer's own promise to pay.
Why it matters. Time drafts are a financing tool as much as a payment instrument: under documents against acceptance terms they hand the buyer a credit period. That period is unsecured unless a bank has added its name.
A certificate from port or customs authorities on the health of those aboard a vessel or aircraft at arrival or departure. A clean bill records no contagious disease found; a suspected bill records none found but a concern that some may emerge; a foul bill records disease present. The latter two put the conveyance or its passengers into quarantine.
The carrier's document to the shipper, signed for the vessel, that acts at once as a receipt for the goods, as the terms on which carriage is undertaken, and as an undertaking to deliver at the named destination to whoever lawfully holds it. Several forms exist. A straight bill names the consignee, is not negotiable, and needs only proof of identity to collect, so it suits prepaid shipments. A shipper's order bill is issued to the order of a named party, usually the shipper, and passes by endorsement, which makes it tradable while the goods are afloat and the standard choice under a letter of credit. An air waybill is the air equivalent and is never negotiable. A clean bill carries no adverse notation about the goods received; a claused bill records defects in the goods or their packing.
Why it matters. Whoever holds an original negotiable bill controls release of the cargo, which is why it sits at the center of payment terms. Errors in consignee, notify party, or description are the most common cause of delayed release at destination.
Bill of Lading Terms →A structured list of everything needed to build a product, from raw inputs and ingredients through parts, sub-assemblies, and intermediates, with quantities, specifications, sources, and part numbers. Paired with a production schedule it drives purchasing. Some industries call it the formula, recipe, or ingredient list.
Why it matters. The BOM is also a customs document in disguise. Component origin, assists supplied to the factory, and substantial transformation all get argued from it, so keep it aligned with what you declare.
A list of the goods in a consignment with their descriptions and prices, sent to the buyer with the shipment. It is more commonly called a packing slip.
A written instrument transferring title in goods from one party to another.
A customs document allowing a consignee to examine goods before duty is paid, used where the importer lacks enough information to complete a full declaration.
The party named on a bill of lading as responsible for paying the freight, which may be the shipper, the consignee, a forwarder, or someone else entirely.
The weight a waybill or freight bill charges against, which may be actual weight or a dimensional figure, whichever the tariff calls for.
Invoicing transport charges to someone other than the shipper or the consignee.
A semi-trailer that runs on the road on tyres and on rails once fitted to steel wheel assemblies, in some designs by retracting the tyres onto bogies. It is also known as a road-rail trailer.
A document confirming temporary cover, issued by an insurer or its agent while the full policy is being drawn up.
A written customs ruling on tariff classification that the importer can rely on when placing orders and making commercial decisions, obtained by applying to the customs authority with a full product description before importing.
Why it matters. A binding ruling converts a judgment call into a defensible answer, and it protects you at audit. Request one whenever two plausible headings carry materially different rates.
Cubeship Customs Support →A written determination issued by the customs authority, in advance of importation, stating how a specific product will be classified, valued, or treated for origin, and binding on the agency for identical goods.
Why it matters. A ruling converts a classification argument into certainty before the money is committed, which is worth it for a high-volume or high-duty product. It binds you as well, so ask only when you can live with the answer.
Substances capable of causing human disease, classed as infectious or etiological agents under UN Class 6. Live virus vaccines are a typical example. Handling risks include ignition where the carrier medium is flammable and infection on contact, and damage to an outer package does not necessarily mean the inner container has failed.
Trading goods, commodities, or currency in breach of government restrictions.
A form printed without terms and conditions on the reverse. A blank back bill of lading, usually called a short form, carries the conditions of carriage by reference to another document instead. Unless a letter of credit says otherwise, banks generally accept it.
Signing a negotiable instrument, usually on the reverse, without naming who it passes to, which turns it into bearer paper. Whoever then holds a blank endorsed bill of lading can claim the goods.
Why it matters. A blank endorsed bill in a courier envelope is a bearer instrument in transit. Treat the original set with the care you would give cash.
A single flat rate covering movements to or from a defined group of points, or one rate applied across different articles within a single consignment.
Physically preventing carriers from reaching a port or country in order to cut off its trade, typically a wartime measure.
A method of recording transactions across many computers in a peer-to-peer network. Records are grouped into blocks, each carrying its transaction data, a timestamp, and a cryptographic hash of the block before it, which chains them together.
Why it matters. Trade documentation is the obvious use, since an electronic bill of lading needs a way to prove single ownership. Adoption depends on carriers, banks, and customs authorities all accepting the same system.
A lumber measure equal to a piece one foot square and one inch thick.
A wheeled sub-frame carrying two or more axles, usually paired in tandem, that pivots so a truck or trailer can track through a curve.
In good faith, honestly and without pretense. A bona fide purchaser pays value and has no knowledge of fraud in the deal. Knowledge can be inferred where the circumstances should have raised suspicion, as when goods prone to piracy arrive with no documentation of where they came from.
Why it matters. Good faith is not a defense to a customs violation. Reasonable care is the standard for the importer of record, which means asking the questions a careful buyer would ask.
An interest-bearing debt instrument, usually issued in a series, under which the issuer promises to repay the principal on a set date and pay interest along the way.
An undertaking given to a carrier that releases it from liability it would otherwise carry for a particular act. Carriers commonly require one before releasing cargo without the original bill of lading.
Why it matters. A letter of indemnity is how a shipment gets released when the originals have not arrived. It shifts the whole risk of a wrong release onto you, so it is a last resort rather than a routine workaround.
The module of the legacy U.S. customs platform holding bond coverage data. The bond itself is an agreement binding a principal, normally the importer, together with a surety, taken out to secure performance of an obligation imposed by law, with customs as beneficiary. It stands behind potential loss of duties, taxes, and penalties on defined transaction types.
Held under customs supervision until duty is paid or the goods leave the country again.
A carrier licensed to move goods in bond, meaning it may take imported cargo inland past the border to another customs office, where the importer then settles duty and tax.
Why it matters. In-bond movement is how cargo clears at an inland port rather than at the arrival port, which can cut congestion and demurrage. The bond travels with the goods, and unclosed in-bond entries create liability.
Currency that cannot be freely converted into other currencies.
A sealed storeroom aboard a vessel or aircraft holding goods that have not been entered for customs, kept under seal until the craft departs.
An airline terminal approved to hold imported goods until duty is paid or the goods are otherwise released.
A facility run by an operator approved and bonded to observe the revenue laws, where imported goods sit while duty is deferred. Duty falls due only when the goods enter domestic commerce, and no duty arises at all if they are re-exported.
Why it matters. A bonded warehouse defers duty much as an FTZ does, but with narrower permitted activity and a storage clock, generally five years. It suits slow-moving stock you would rather not pay duty on yet.
Cubeship Warehousing →A reservation of space for a shipment on a named voyage, flight, truck, or train.
Why it matters. A booking is a request until the carrier confirms it, and on tight lanes confirmed does not always mean loaded. Rolled cargo is the reason buffer belongs in the plan, not in the excuse.
A CBP program within the legacy customs system that set risk scoring and examination requirements at high-volume land borders, using the same editing logic as the Cargo Selectivity system.
A periodic schedule, usually monthly, by which an assured reports multiple shipments to its insurer under an open cargo policy. It lists vessel and sailing date, origin and destination, the commodity, the sum to be insured, and the open policy number, and the insurer bills premium against the policy's rate schedule. Because it is not evidence of cover for a third party, it does not serve where a customer, bank, or overseas claimant needs proof of insurance; a special marine policy is used for that instead. In practice it suits imports rather than exports.
The petty officer aboard a merchant vessel who directs the work of the deck crew.
A program that carries out tasks automatically, often online, ranging from simple routines to software that imitates human behavior closely.
A historic marine loan to a shipowner or to a master acting for the owner, taken to continue or finish a voyage and secured on the hull itself, often to fund emergency repairs. If the vessel was lost the lender lost everything; if she arrived, the lender took back principal plus interest that could reach 30 to 50 percent. The practice is old enough to appear in the Code of Hammurabi and faded by the mid-1800s because the bond ranked poorly against other claims on the ship. Respondentia was the equivalent secured on cargo.
Tariff ceilings a country has committed to in trade negotiations and written into its schedule of concessions, making them enforceable obligations. Raising a tariff above its bound rate entitles the countries that benefited from the binding to compensation, usually cuts on other goods they export; without it they may retaliate on an equivalent value of trade.
Everyday shorthand for a trailer, semi-trailer, or shipping container.
A fully enclosed rail freight wagon, doored on one side or both, and the most widely used cargo wagon in the world. It carries boxed, crated, and palletized freight of every kind, with paper, canned goods, and bulky items typical. Variants offer single or double doors in plug or sliding form, cushioned or rigid underframes, insulation, and interior fittings such as belt rails or movable bulkheads for securing loads.
Failing to perform an obligation a contract imposes.
Conventional cargo moved outside containers, either as single units such as machinery or vehicles, or as packages such as palletized and boxed goods. U.S. customs draws the line by fungibility: bulk cargo must be interchangeable, so vehicles carrying identification numbers are break bulk rather than bulk. Stowage matters as much as commodity, since bananas loose in a hold count as bulk while the same fruit palletized in boxes counts as break bulk.
Why it matters. Break bulk needs gear, labor, and lay time that container terminals do not price for, so quotes are project-shaped rather than per-box. Machinery, steel, and vehicles are where importers meet it.
The price at which an option holder recovers the premium paid, so the position neither gains nor loses. More generally, the volume or price at which revenue covers cost exactly.
A credit a supplier allows to cover goods damaged in transit or storage. The word also covers small residual amounts thrown up by a calculation, such as fractional pennies of interest.
To open a consolidated shipment and split some or all of its contents for onward delivery or reconsignment.
A general cargo ship built to work break bulk loads, usually self-sustaining because it carries its own cranes and gear rather than depending on shore equipment.
Why it matters. Ship's gear is what makes a port with no heavy shore crane usable. For project cargo into developing infrastructure, that capability decides the routing.
The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, from Britain and exit. A referendum on 23 June 2016 produced a 52 percent vote to leave, departure took effect on 31 January 2020, and a transition ran to the end of that year with EU rules still applying. A deal concluded on 24 December 2020 produced the Trade and Cooperation Agreement alongside information security and nuclear cooperation agreements, all effective 1 January 2021.
Why it matters. Brexit turned intra-EU movements into customs entries, with origin rules, declarations, and VAT treatment that did not exist before. Goods that merely pass through Great Britain to the EU need transit handling rather than plain carriage.
A payment made to obtain a right, benefit, or preference the payer has no entitlement to and would not otherwise get. It is a crime in most countries, and laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act reach conduct by nationals and companies abroad.
Why it matters. Exposure runs through agents and forwarders as well as staff, and a payment made on your behalf can still be your problem. Screen intermediaries and put anti-corruption terms in the agency agreement.
Shorthand for the large emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
A variant grouping of the large emerging economies covering Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the Arab states.
A variant grouping of the large emerging economies covering Brazil, Russia, India, China, Eastern Europe, and Turkey.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa taken together as an emerging-economy bloc, which has since formalized with regular summits and additional members admitted.
A variant grouping of the large emerging economies covering Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, and China.
The name the United Kingdom uses instead of embassy for its diplomatic missions in Commonwealth countries.
A mismatch between three or more exchange rates, such that converting through an intermediate currency yields more than converting directly. The term is also used for a forward deal struck for an odd maturity rather than the standard one and two week and one, two, three, six, and twelve month periods.
A person or firm acting as intermediary between two parties, usually a buyer and a seller, and generally paid by commission.
U.S. authority permitting a person to arrange transportation of goods or passengers in interstate commerce, now administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Software used to reach and view pages on the web.
An earlier international system for classifying goods in tariffs, superseded first by the Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature and then by the Harmonized System.
An English statute that barred joint-stock companies without a royal charter, leaving only the Royal Exchange Assurance and the London Assurance chartered to write marine insurance. Everything else had to be underwritten by wealthy individuals, which shaped the individual-underwriter market that became Lloyd's. It was repealed in 1825.
Inventory held deliberately against unexpected supply shortfalls or demand spikes. How much to carry is set by supplier lead time, transit time, how fragile the supply is, and how volatile demand looks.
Why it matters. Buffer stock is the price of long ocean lead times. The alternative when it runs out is air freight, so compare the carrying cost against what expediting would cost.
British term for a mutual savings and mortgage institution, comparable to a savings and loan.
A single commodity carried loose in a hold, trailer, or wagon rather than in containers, boxes, bales, bags, or casks, and normally moved without packaging. It divides into free-flowing goods such as oil, grain, coal, and ore that can be pumped, chuted, or dumped, and uniform cargo that stows solid and needs mechanical handling.
A vessel built to carry bulk cargo, either dry types such as grain and ore or liquid types such as oil.
A container built for dry bulk such as malt, identified by loading hatches in the roof. Liquids such as chemicals and juices travel in tank containers instead, while ore, grain, and crude oil generally move in purpose-built ships rather than containers at all.
Freight carried without packages or containers, such as grain, ore, or timber.
Liquid cargo carried in bulk rather than in packages, moving in tank vessels and barges, in rail tank cars and road tankers, through pipelines, or in tank containers and flexitanks.
Planning and controlling the movement of bulk commodities from origin to destination on time and in condition. The cargo is a single commodity stowed loose rather than packaged, whether free-flowing material that can be pumped, chuted, or dumped, or uniform product that stows solid and needs mechanical handling, such as coils, rails, ingots, plate, pipe, and sheet metal, timber and paper, and certain unpackaged perishables stowed the same way.
Selling substantially all of a business's inventory or property to one buyer in a single transaction outside the ordinary course of trade. Several countries regulate such sales to limit their use in defrauding creditors.
Dry bulk commodities carried loose, whether in a purpose-built container with roof hatches or direct in a hold. Grain, sugar, resins, minerals, and cement are typical.
A partition dividing one part of a vessel from another between decks, or a structure built to hold back earth or water.
Germany's central bank, known informally as Buba. Founded in 1957, it inherited monetary authority from its predecessor institution, which had brought in the Deutsche Mark in 1948. Its independence and record on inflation gave the mark a strong reputation and set a template other countries copied, in contrast to systems where government sets the target. The European Central Bank assumed many of its functions in 1999, and it remains influential within the Eurosystem.
A vessel's fuel, and the compartment or tank it is stored in. Bunkering is the act of taking fuel aboard.
A surcharge that moves ocean freight up or down to track changes in the price of marine fuel.
Why it matters. BAF is quoted separately from base rate and revised on its own cycle, so a rate that looks flat can still rise. Ask which index and which lag a carrier applies before comparing offers.
Another name for the bunker adjustment factor, the fuel surcharge added to ocean freight.
The heavy oil that powers a ship's main engines. Sulphur limits set by the IMO have pushed the market toward low sulphur grades and scrubber-fitted vessels.
An addition to ocean freight covering swings in fuel cost, usually struck as a percentage of the base rate and now standard on containerized business.
The body set up under a 1928 Paris convention to govern how international expositions are run and timed where foreign states are formally invited. It sorts expositions into categories and holds members to minimum intervals between them.
The U.S. agency regulating the alcohol, firearms, and explosives trades, collecting federal excise on alcohol and tobacco, and investigating breaches of the related laws.
Why it matters. ATF licensing sits alongside the customs entry as a separate approval. Importing spirits, firearms, or ammunition without it stops the shipment regardless of how clean the entry is.
The former name of the U.S. customs authority, whose functions now sit with U.S. Customs and Border Protection inside the Department of Homeland Security.
The former name of the U.S. export control agency, renamed the Bureau of Industry and Security in April 2002.
The Commerce Department agency that controls U.S. exports on national security, foreign policy, and short supply grounds. It issues licenses for controlled items, runs training on the export rules, and operates an online license application system.
Why it matters. Export control reaches ordinary commercial goods through dual-use classifications, not just weapons. Screening the item, the destination, and the end user is the importer's and exporter's job, not the forwarder's.
A private sector coalition working with governments and international bodies to make cross-border trade more secure, backed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection since it began in 1996 and incorporated as the World BASC Organization.
Handing an entire business process to another company, at home or abroad. It splits into back office work such as payroll, invoicing, and purchasing, and front office work such as support, marketing, and sales.
U.S. federal and state laws giving preference to domestically produced goods in government purchasing. They aim to shelter local industry and jobs, tend to raise what agencies pay, and count as a non-tariff barrier.
A countertrade structure in which a supplier exports technology, know-how, or production machinery and is repaid wholly or partly in the output that equipment goes on to produce.
344 terms in this group.
The Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, a voluntary U.S. program in which importers, carriers, brokers, and foreign manufacturers adopt documented supply chain security measures in exchange for reduced inspection rates and other benefits.
Why it matters. Certification cuts examination frequency and gives you front-of-line treatment after a disruption, which matters more than the paperwork suggests. It also obliges you to verify your suppliers' security, not just your own.
An older abbreviation for Cost and Freight, superseded by CFR in the modern Incoterms rules. Under it the seller pays carriage to the named destination port while risk passes on loading.
Incoterms Guide →Carriage of goods or passengers between two points within the same country. Many states, the United States among them, reserve it to domestically owned and crewed vessels.
Why it matters. Cabotage rules are why cargo cannot simply be moved between two U.S. ports on a foreign ship. The Jones Act shapes routing and cost for Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska traffic in particular.
Computer-aided design paired with computer-aided manufacturing: software used to design a product and then to drive the machinery that makes it.
Customs Automated Data Exchange, the Canadian electronic system through which importers and brokers transmit accounting documents for goods already released, removing the need for paper. Users can also query certain customs files and receive statement documents electronically.
An informal coalition of agricultural exporting nations formed in August 1986 to press for liberalization of farm trade, spanning Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa, and North America.
A demand that a loan be repaid, often triggered when the borrower breaches the terms.
Demanding payment under a contract, and specifically serving formal written notice to collect. A seller entitled to be paid when goods are ready may call in the contract if funds have not arrived.
Funds lent by banks on the shortest terms, repayable the same day or at one or two days' notice. British usage calls it overnight money and U.S. usage Federal funds.
The right, though not the duty, to buy an agreed quantity of a currency, security, or commodity from the writer at a fixed price within a set period.
Why it matters. An importer with a foreign currency payable buys calls on that currency to cap its cost while keeping the upside if the rate moves favorably. The premium is the price of that asymmetry.
The unique alphanumeric identifier a vessel uses in radio communication.
The principle that disputes over foreign investment belong to the courts of the country where the investment sits, leaving the investor no external forum. Named for the Argentine jurist Carlos Calvo, it has been applied widely across Latin America and beyond.
Canada's border authority, created in December 2003 within the public safety portfolio. It consolidates the agencies handling cross-border traffic, tasked with facilitating legitimate trade and travel while intercepting people and goods that present a risk.
A prescribed invoice presented to Canadian customs identifying seller and buyer, itemizing the goods and quantities, giving carton marks and numbers, and stating delivery and payment terms alongside the usual commercial invoice detail.
The Canadian export declaration historically required for statistical reporting of shipments above a set value threshold, presented at the time of export. Electronic reporting has since replaced the paper form.
A Canadian non-profit body that tracks customs and trade policy, represents importer and exporter interests to government, and provides members with information and industry contacts.
An Ottawa-based organization supporting international business, which issues and promotes the ATA Carnet and backs a range of Canadian trade initiatives.
The Canadian body acting as prime contractor in government-to-government sales. Where a foreign government or agency asks for goods or services, it identifies capable Canadian suppliers, signs the prime and matching back-to-back contracts, and manages delivery, inspection, and acceptance.
Canada's principal development assistance agency, providing concessional finance and grants to developing countries, funding multilateral development banks, and sourcing goods and services for recipient countries from Canadian suppliers.
A Canadian not-for-profit standards body whose scope runs from construction products to consumer electronics, and publisher of the CAN/CSA quality management standards aligned to ISO 9000.
Why it matters. CSA certification is a market access condition for many electrical and consumer products entering Canada. Confirm it at the sourcing stage, because retrofitting certification after production is expensive.
A Canadian entry document controlling goods brought in temporarily. It is discharged when the goods leave, and the security deposit taken against duty and tax is refunded.
A network of commercial officers at Canadian missions abroad supplying market intelligence, advice on channels and trade fairs, and introductions to vetted agents and distributors.
A highway corridor linking Alberta through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona into Mexico, established under the North American free trade framework as a north-south trade route.
A set of Canadian border programs that speed clearance for frequent, pre-approved low-risk travelers.
An agreed ceiling on a floating interest rate, bought for a premium, above which the borrower's rate will not rise however far the market moves.
The legal competence to enter a contract, requiring that a party has reached the age the law sets and has the mental capacity to understand what the obligations mean.
A cargo vessel too large for the Suez Canal or the Panama locks, obliged instead to route around Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope. Ships of this class work deepwater berths loading iron ore, coal, and similar raw material.
The part of the national accounts setting a country's long and short term capital inflows against its outflows.
Money moved out of a country to escape inflation or deteriorating economic or political conditions.
Manufactured items bought to produce other goods rather than for consumption, machine tools being the standard example.
The market for long-term funds raised through bonds, mortgages, and similar instruments, centered on organized institutions such as stock exchanges. It is distinguished from the money market, where short-dated funds trade, mainly by the use to which the money is put.
A country's international payments, and the short and long term claims and liabilities it takes on with other countries, covering debt repayment, direct and portfolio investment, and property purchases.
The officer in command of a vessel, also called the master. The captain answers for everything aboard, from crew and safety to customs and immigration formalities and the cargo manifest, working through the chief engineer, chief mate, and chief steward.
A statement the master draws up on arrival recording unusual conditions met during the voyage. Its purpose is to shield the owner from liability for resulting cargo loss, leaving cargo interests to look to their insurers.
Why it matters. A protest on file is an early signal that a cargo claim is coming and that the carrier intends to resist it. Notify your underwriter as soon as you see one.
Goods carried by a transport operator for hire, as distinct from the vessel's own stores or passengers' baggage.
An intermediary appointed by a line or an airline to solicit and process freight bookings, remunerated by commission from that carrier.
An aircraft configured for freight alone rather than a mix of passengers and cargo, loading unit load devices or bulk on the main deck as well as below, on scheduled or charter services.
The Canadian document, such as an advice note or house bill of lading, that first records a shipment's arrival and governs its movement until customs releases it.
A branch of marine insurance covering loss or damage to goods in transit by any mode, including ocean and inland waterway vessels, trucks, railcars, and aircraft. Cover can be bought direct from an insurer or arranged through the carrier, forwarder, or logistics provider.
Why it matters. Carrier liability is capped by convention and is not insurance; it often pays a fraction of the goods' value. Buying cargo cover separately is usually cheaper than declaring value to the carrier.
The list of everything a vessel or aircraft is carrying, by consignment, without freight charges shown.
The U.S. customs module that decides whether an import gets a general or an intensive examination, scoring against criteria such as the filer, the consignee, the tariff number, the country of origin, and the manufacturer or shipper. A consignee importing for the first time is always selected for intensive examination.
Why it matters. Your exam rate is a function of your own filing history as much as your commodity. Clean, consistent entries build a record that lowers it over time.
The weight of a consignment, or of a vessel's whole cargo, stated in tons.
U.S. legislation granting one-way tariff preferences to developing countries of the Caribbean Basin to support their development and broaden what they produce and export. It applies to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption from 1 January 1984 and carries no expiry.
The U.S. program allowing duty-free entry for goods from designated Caribbean Basin beneficiaries, enacted through the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and effective from the start of 1984, intended to widen economic assistance and trade preference across the region.
A regional grouping of English-speaking Caribbean states working toward economic development and closer social and cultural cooperation, with a membership spanning the islands plus Belize, Guyana, and Suriname.
A customs document letting the holder take goods temporarily into participating countries for display, demonstration, or similar use without paying duty or tax or lodging a bond.
The U.S. statute fixing carrier liability for cargo moving by sea. Where it applies, the carrier answers for damage caused by negligent loading, stowage, or discharge, but not for errors in navigating or managing the ship, nor for unseaworthiness unless it failed to exercise due diligence, and its liability is capped per package unless a higher value is declared.
Why it matters. The per-package limitation is why a container of high-value goods can be worth far more than the carrier will ever pay. Cargo insurance, not the bill of lading, is what closes that gap.
Bill of Lading Terms →A person or company in the business of moving goods or passengers for payment: shipping lines, airlines, trucking firms, and railways. Successive editions of the Incoterms rules have widened the sense, so that under those rules the carrier can also be whoever contracts to perform or arrange the carriage, not only the operator of the vehicle.
A U.S. customs program begun in 1984 in which air, sea, land, and rail carriers worked with the authorities against drug smuggling and terrorism aboard commercial conveyances. It was folded into C-TPAT in 2011.
Air cargo that the carrier itself loads into unit load devices, as opposed to consignments the shipper builds up before tender.
A document from the shipping company to customs certifying that a named party owns or is consignee of the listed goods. It commonly serves as the evidence of right to make entry that customs requires before releasing them.
Short-distance movement of goods, usually by truck, and the charge made for collecting, moving, and delivering them over such distances.
Local haulage of goods and the charge for it, the terms being used interchangeably in much of the trade.
A ground operator handling pickup and delivery in areas an air or ocean carrier does not serve directly.
A grouping of nominally independent producers that coordinates output, pricing, or marketing to blunt competition between them and strengthen their collective position.
Marine cover on the hull of a vessel itself, as opposed to cover on the cargo aboard.
The accumulated decisions of the courts under a common law system, from which judges draw principles to apply to the case in front of them. Lower courts are bound by the precedents higher courts set, which is what keeps outcomes consistent.
A payment method in which the seller or its bank hands over the title documents only once the buyer pays. Because title does not move until payment does, the seller carries less risk. It is also called documents against payment.
Why it matters. CAD gives the seller control of the goods without a bank guaranteeing payment. If the buyer simply refuses to pay, the seller still owns cargo sitting in a foreign port, which is its own expensive problem.
A payment method requiring the buyer to pay before the goods ship. It favors the seller and leaves the buyer exposed if the seller does not perform.
Payment made when the order is placed, common on small orders, with unfamiliar buyers, or where the seller needs the funds to finance production. It amounts to the same thing as cash in advance.
Goods brought in for personal rather than commercial, industrial, occupational, or institutional use, which qualify for preferential treatment under a trade agreement.
A major casualty, usually accidental, such as a flood or a shipwreck.
A U.S. trade promotion program showing exhibitors' catalogs and videos at overseas events, letting smaller or less experienced firms test a market without travelling. Local-language staff field enquiries and pass leads back to participants.
Let the buyer beware: the buyer takes the risk on what is bought unless a warranty says otherwise.
The China Compulsory Certification mark, applied by a manufacturer or importer to declare that a product meets Chinese requirements covering human health and safety, animals, plants, environmental protection, and national security.
Why it matters. CCC applies to goods entering China, and testing must be done by an accredited body before shipment. Discovering it at the border means the goods sit there.
A mark applied by the manufacturer or importer declaring that a product meets the requirements of the European Union directives covering health, safety, and environmental protection that apply to it. Each directive sets out essential requirements, performance levels, or harmonized standards the product must satisfy.
Why it matters. CE marking is a self-declaration backed by a technical file, and the importer bears responsibility for it once goods enter the EU. Ask the supplier for the declaration of conformity, not just the sticker.
The fixed vertical guides built into a container ship's holds that hold boxes securely in a stack, braced at each corner.
A ship purpose-built for containers, with cell guides that let boxes be stacked and braced efficiently.
The component of the legacy U.S. customs platform applying Census Bureau edits and validations to entry summary data submitted through the broker interface, so trade statistics are captured accurately.
The point within the U.S. development agency that gathers and distributes information on its programs supporting private enterprise in the developing countries where it works, acting as a single source on trade and investment opportunities there.
A flat railcar with a full-length central bulkhead that cargo is secured against, loaded from both sides. Also called a centerbeam flatcar, it carries lumber, plywood, and packaged building materials, with decks canted inward and floor risers for packages that lack their own dunnage.
Another name for the center partition railway car, a double-sided flatcar with a central bulkhead for securing packaged lumber and building products.
A regional bloc formed in July 1991 by Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, with a common market covering goods traded in the region and a common external tariff as the next stage. Panama has become progressively more involved.
The institution holding the sole right to issue banknotes and setting monetary and credit policy for a currency area. It provides money and credit to the wider economy, oversees payments at home and across borders, and works to keep the currency stable.
A document from a recognized laboratory or authority confirming the quality and composition of the goods it lists. Importing authorities commonly require one for foodstuffs, plant and animal products, and pharmaceuticals.
Why it matters. Where an agency requires a certificate of analysis it is a release condition, not supporting paperwork. It has to be in hand before arrival, not chased afterwards.
A government-issued statement confirming that specified goods may lawfully be sold in the exporting country, giving the importing country assurance that they meet the exporter's own national and regional requirements. It is typically issued for food, supplements, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices.
A document confirming that goods were in sound condition when inspected, usually just before shipment. Pre-shipment inspection is an import requirement in many developing countries, and the term is often used interchangeably with certificate of analysis.
A document evidencing that a particular shipment is covered under a marine policy, issued so a buyer, bank, or claimant can rely on the cover without seeing the master policy.
Why it matters. Under CIF and CIP terms the seller must hand the buyer evidence of insurance, and a letter of credit will usually specify the certificate's form. A bordereau will not satisfy that requirement.
A statement, often notarized, in which a producer confirms that manufacturing is finished and the goods are ready for the buyer.
A document attesting where goods were produced, often required by customs as part of entry. It is usually obtained through an official or semi-official body at origin, a chamber of commerce or consular office being the usual issuers, and may be demanded even where the commercial invoice already states origin.
Why it matters. Origin sets the duty rate, decides eligibility under trade agreements, and determines exposure to antidumping and additional tariffs. Getting it wrong costs money in both directions.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The process by which an authorized body, public or private, assesses a person or organization and recognizes that defined requirements have been met, as when a standards body certifies conformity to an industry standard. The word also covers documentation from a qualified authority that a consignment meets requirements of quality, quantity, or volume.
A U.S. Commerce Department scheme encouraging private organizers to bring firms new to a market or to exporting into overseas trade fairs. Certification requires that the fair is a leading international event for its industry and that the organizer can recruit U.S. exhibitors and support them with forwarding, customs clearance, and exhibit logistics.
A U.S. Commerce Department program supporting development agencies at every level of government, along with chambers of commerce and trade associations, that want a more active role in export promotion, opening access to government and business contacts in target markets.
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, the federal security requirements the U.S. Department of Homeland Security imposes on sites holding chemicals of interest in quantities that make them high risk.
The large Korean conglomerates, marked by family control, hierarchical management, and centralized decisions. They grew out of the reorganization of the Korean economy after the Second World War and were reinforced through the 1970s and 1980s by tax and financing policies favoring industrial rebuilding and exports.
The diplomat who heads a mission in the ambassador's absence.
The figure freight is billed on, being whichever is greater of a shipment's actual weight and its volumetric weight.
Why it matters. Light, bulky cargo almost always bills on volume, which is why cartonization and fill rate move air and LCL cost more than negotiating the rate does.
Dimensions Calculator →Incidental costs a carrier pays out on a shipment's behalf and recovers later, such as cartage or storage.
Transport charges, which may include pickup and delivery, entered on the waybill for collection from the consignee. Freight collect and charges forward mean the same thing.
A formal instrument granting rights, liberties, or powers, whether issued by a government to a body of people, a corporation, or a territory, or a legislative act creating a corporation and defining its franchise.
The contract under which a shipowner lets a vessel, or part of it, to a charterer: by voyage, for a period of time, or bareboat with the charterer taking over operation entirely.
Why it matters. A bill of lading issued under a charter party incorporates that charter's terms, including its arbitration clause, which can be very different from liner terms. Ask for the charter party before accepting the bill.
A bill of lading issued under a charter party rather than by a line operating a scheduled service. Banks will not accept one under a letter of credit unless the credit expressly permits it.
Why it matters. Because the underlying charter governs, the terms are not the standard liner conditions and the bank cannot see them. If your credit does not authorize this form, the presentation fails.
The agreement under which an owner lets a defined part of a ship, or the whole ship, to a charterer for a stated period or for named voyages. Where the vessel comes without crew it is a bareboat charter. Transport documents the charterer or its agent issues are charter party bills of lading.
Hiring an aircraft for a defined period or trip to move cargo or passengers outside scheduled services.
A Canadian financial institution licensed under federal banking legislation to carry on business as a bank.
A vessel taken on hire from the owner, or from an agent acting for it, for a fixed period or for named voyages.
The wheeled undercarriage that carries an ocean container over the road, built in skeletal, parallel frame, perimeter frame, and gooseneck forms among others.
Why it matters. Chassis shortages stall containers as effectively as a berth shortage, and a box that cannot leave the terminal accrues demurrage anyway. Who supplies the chassis is worth settling before peak season, not during it.
An item of movable personal property, as distinct from land and buildings.
A claim over goods held by someone who has worked on them, supplied materials for them, or stored them at the request of the owner or a party lawfully in possession, securing payment for that work.
Why it matters. A warehouse or repair shop can hold your goods against unpaid charges, and that right survives a change of ownership of the cargo. It is the everyday reason unpaid storage stops a release.
One or more written documents that together evidence both a monetary obligation and either a security interest in identified goods or a lease of them.
A single digit appended to a reference such as a container number or air waybill number, calculated from the preceding characters so that a mistyped number can be detected.
Why it matters. Container and air waybill numbers are keyed and rekeyed across manifests, entries, and bookings. The check digit is what catches a transposition before it becomes a customs discrepancy.
Weapons controlled under U.S. foreign policy export rules, which restrict precursor chemicals capable of being turned to warfare use. Washington coordinates against proliferation through the Australia Group, working from a core list of substances essential to weapons development and a broader warning list of further precursors.
Why it matters. Many controlled precursors are ordinary industrial chemicals. Screening the item against the control lists and the buyer against denied party lists is a legal duty, not a formality.
The vessel's second in command, answerable for stability, loading, and the deck crew. The rank sits fifth in the progression from ordinary seaman through able seaman and the junior mates to master.
Collusion between bidders, or between buyers, to hold competition down at a sale so property can be taken below fair value.
A right to recover money or property through legal proceedings rather than by taking physical possession, such as a debt or a claim under a contract. Also called a thing in action.
Cost, Insurance and Freight. A sea and inland waterway Incoterms rule under which the seller pays carriage and minimum insurance to the named destination port, while risk passes to the buyer once the goods are loaded at origin.
Why it matters. The split between where risk passes and where cost ends catches buyers out. You carry the risk from origin loading, yet the seller chose the carrier and bought only minimum cover.
Incoterms Guide →The standard consignment note used for international rail freight, named from the French title of the convention governing it, in force since the start of 1965. It provides the legal basis for concluding a rail carriage contract across borders on a single document.
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, a uniform sales law that applies by default to contracts between parties in different signatory states unless they opt out. It governs formation, obligations, and remedies.
Why it matters. CISG applies automatically to many cross-border sales, so a contract silent on governing law may not be governed by the law you assumed. Say expressly whether it applies.
A large Japanese commercial bank serving corporations and major accounts nationally, as distinct from a regional or local bank.
An airline arrangement letting shippers tender or collect freight at a cartage agent's or other in-town terminal, priced below full door-to-door pickup and delivery.
The codified legal tradition that grew out of continental Europe, also called Romano-Germanic law, now used across most of Europe, Latin America, and much of Asia and Africa, as well as Quebec. It is the most widely used system in the world and works quite differently from common law.
A demand on a carrier for payment covering loss or damage attributable to it.
Why it matters. Claim windows are short and set by convention and by the bill of lading, often days rather than months. Note damage on the delivery receipt at the point of receipt, because a clean receipt makes the claim much harder.
A follow-up request asking a carrier for the current status of a claim already filed.
The phrase that fixes how far an antidumping investigation reaches. It captures goods sold in the exporter's home market that are identical or closely alike in physical characteristics to the product under petition.
Why it matters. Scope is decided on physical characteristics, not on your product name or intended use. A small design change rarely takes goods outside an order, and a scope ruling is the only reliable way to know.
Freight rates applying to a whole class of goods as set out in a classification table, where the class is assigned from factors such as weight, bulk, value, perishability, hazard, and how the goods are packed.
Assigning goods to the correct heading in a tariff or rate schedule. In customs it means determining the Harmonized System code that sets the duty rate; in freight pricing it means placing goods in the class that determines the rate.
Why it matters. Classification is the single decision that drives duty owed, trade agreement eligibility, and exposure to additional tariffs. It is a judgment call on many products, so document the reasoning behind the code you use.
Cubeship Customs Support →An independent organization that sets construction and maintenance standards for ships, surveys vessels against them, and issues the class certificates insurers and charterers rely on. Members of the International Association of Classification Societies cover most of the world's tonnage.
Why it matters. A vessel's class and its age tell you something about the risk your cargo is riding on. Charterers and underwriters both price it, and some letters of credit require a classed vessel.
A single article, stipulation, or provision within a contract, treaty, or statute.
A bill of lading carrying notations that record defects in the goods or their packing at the time the carrier received them.
Why it matters. A clause on the bill usually stops payment under a letter of credit, since banks require a clean document. It is also the carrier's first line of defense against a later cargo claim.
A tanker carrying refined petroleum products. A dirty tanker carries crude and fuel oil instead.
A bill of exchange presented on its own, with no shipping documents attached.
A bill of lading on which the carrier has receipted the goods as received in apparent good order and condition, carrying no adverse notation and no shipper's load and count qualification.
A collection where the bank presents only the demand for payment, with no accompanying documents.
A sight or time draft travelling without attached documents, as opposed to a documentary draft.
A credit under which the beneficiary may draw simply by presenting a bill of exchange, without tendering shipping documents.
A bill evidencing that the goods are actually loaded aboard the vessel, with no exception taken to their condition or quantity.
Why it matters. Letters of credit almost always require shipped on board wording, not merely received for shipment. A received-for-shipment bill is a discrepancy even when the cargo later sails.
Completing the entry formalities so customs releases the goods to the importer.
Another name for a closely held corporation, one owned by a small group of shareholders who usually run it themselves.
A shipping conference that may refuse membership to carriers applying to join.
A credit facility for a fixed amount with a fixed repayment schedule.
A company with few shareholders, who typically run it directly while keeping limited liability. Statute usually caps the number of shareholders, and both minimum capital and management formalities are lighter than for a public company. The specifics differ between jurisdictions.
The convention on the contract for the international carriage of goods by road, signed at Geneva on 19 May 1956, which standardizes the consignment note, the carrier's liability, and claim procedure for cross-border road freight.
Why it matters. CMR caps carrier liability by weight, which for high value cargo is far below the goods' worth. Cargo insurance, not the CMR note, is what covers the difference.
Carriage between ports of the same country, generally reserved to national flag vessels where cabotage laws apply.
The consolidated body of administrative rules issued by U.S. federal departments and agencies. Customs rules sit in Title 19, export controls in Title 15, and hazardous materials in Title 49.
Why it matters. When a broker or agency cites authority, it will be a CFR reference. Knowing which title governs lets you check the rule yourself rather than take the interpretation on trust.
International instruments setting out standards of behavior for states or multinational companies that the wider community regards as desirable. Several were negotiated in the Tokyo Round to liberalize and harmonize domestic measures capable of obstructing trade.
A silver alloy of 800 parts per thousand purity, also called German silver, and usually stamped 800.
Moving and storing goods that must stay within a controlled temperature range end to end, covering pharmaceuticals, vaccines, blood products, and clinical trial material as well as food and cut flowers. It needs refrigerated vehicles, containers, and warehousing at every handover, with monitoring across the whole chain.
Why it matters. The cold chain is only as good as its weakest handover, and the gaps are usually at the terminal and on the apron rather than in transit. Temperature logging is what makes a claim provable.
Cubeship Warehousing →Supplying a berthed ship with electricity from shore so it can shut down its own generators, running lighting, heating, air conditioning, and hot water from the quayside connection instead.
A bill of exchange arising from a trade transaction rather than a purely financial one, drawn by a seller on a buyer for goods supplied.
A Canadian self-service system at designated customs offices where an importer keys in shipment details, the system calculates duty and tax owed, and it prints the completed import declaration for presentation.
Making and selling goods in a way that falsely suggests a known manufacturer produced them, typically by copying design, packaging, or trademarks.
Why it matters. Counterfeits are seized and destroyed, and the importer of record answers for them regardless of what the supplier claimed. Recorded trademarks give rights holders a direct line to customs enforcement.
A letter of credit supporting a sale of goods, issued by a bank at the buyer's request to assure the seller of payment once the credit's terms are met.
A doctrine that excuses performance where an unforeseeable, uncontrollable event makes it impossible, reading the excuse into a contract that made no express provision. A cargo lost in a shipwreck, or materials cut off by war in the supplying country, are the standard illustrations.
Goods imported for sale or for commercial, industrial, occupational, or institutional use, as opposed to personal use.
A doctrine excusing performance that has become impossible in practice because of a contingency whose non-occurrence both parties assumed when contracting. A manufacturer that priced a contract on a subcontractor's quotation may invoke it if that supply collapses.
A U.S. Commercial Service application that distributed market research and international economic data to its domestic offices and overseas posts, holding trader records and supporting local updates to business contacts. It was not open to the public.
The seller's billing document for a sale, naming both parties, carrying invoice number and dates, the shipping date and mode, delivery and payment terms, and a full description of the goods with quantities, prices, and any discounts.
Why it matters. Customs reads this document first and sets declared value from it. Vague descriptions, missing Incoterms, or a figure that does not reconcile with the payment record invite examination and delay.
Cubeship Customs Support →A bank instrument that puts the bank's own credit standing behind a customer so goods can be purchased. It is addressed to the seller and permits drafts to be drawn on the bank on the terms it sets out.
Embassy staff who support visiting businesses by arranging meetings with local companies and officials and advising on trade conditions in the market.
Risk arising from ordinary business operation, spanning financial, legal, production, and market exposure, including the risk of failing to keep up with shifting markets and technology.
The core documents covering a consignment, usually comprising the invoice, the transport document, a draft, and evidence of insurance.
An agreement between countries setting the terms on which business between them may be conducted, which may cover tariff treatment, rights to own property, and how claims are to be settled.
The area around a town or city treated as part of it for rating purposes, so freight to or from it takes the same rate as the city itself.
Packing goods carrying different duty rates together so customs cannot establish the quantity or value of each without physically separating them. Commingled lots are dutiable at the highest rate applicable to any part, unless the importer segregates them under customs supervision.
Why it matters. Mixed cartons of differently rated goods are an expensive packing decision. Segregating at origin, or at least marking clearly, avoids paying the worst rate across the whole shipment.
The payment an agent, broker, or institution earns for concluding a transaction, often calculated as a percentage of the value or, in insurance, retained from the premium produced.
Why it matters. Buying commissions paid to your own agent are generally not dutiable, while selling commissions are. Which side the agent acts for decides the treatment, so document the relationship.
A body concerned with security and cooperation across Europe, North America, and the states of the former Soviet Union, often called the Helsinki Commission.
A U.S. interagency committee established in 1975 to advise on foreign government investment in the United States and on related legislation. The Exon-Florio provision of the 1988 trade act expanded its authority, allowing transactions that raise national security concerns to be reviewed and blocked.
In the broadest sense anything traded, but in practice raw materials such as tin, copper, and manganese, and bulk agricultural output such as coffee, tea, and rubber.
A numeric identifier for a given commodity, used to establish the freight rate that applies to it.
The earlier name for the Commerce Control List, the schedule of dual-use items subject to U.S. export licensing, organized by Export Control Classification Number.
A U.S. government corporation under the Agriculture Department that finances and stabilizes the marketing and export of farm commodities.
A rate applying to a named commodity moving between specified points, usually lower than the class rate for the same goods.
The EU framework merging national farm programs into a single policy, aimed at developing regional agriculture, supporting farm incomes, steadying markets, raising productivity, and securing food supply. Variable import levies and export refunds were among its principal instruments.
A carrier holding itself out to move goods for the public generally, on published terms and without picking and choosing its customers, as distinct from a contract carrier serving named shippers under individual agreements.
A single tariff schedule that a customs union applies to imports from outside the bloc, so goods face the same rate whichever member they enter through. Free trade areas do not necessarily have one.
Why it matters. This is the practical difference between a customs union and a free trade area. In a free trade area you still prove origin at each internal border; in a customs union goods circulate freely once duty is paid.
The legal tradition descended from medieval England, built on judicial decisions and custom rather than comprehensive codes. It spread through former British territories, so it governs in much of North America, Australasia, and South Asia.
A court award requiring one party to pay another for loss or injury caused by its unlawful conduct. Also called actual damages.
A countertrade arrangement settled by exchanging some mix of goods and services rather than by payment.
Whatever puts a company ahead of others in its industry, whether distinctive assets, brand strength, processes, access to inputs, workforce skills, partnerships, scale, or reputation.
A rate a carrier sets specifically to match what a rival is offering on the same traffic.
Imports of materials or goods a country does not have or does not produce itself.
A duty combining a specific charge per unit with an ad valorem percentage, for example a fixed amount per pound plus a percentage of value.
Why it matters. Compound rates make duty sensitive to both weight and value, so packing and pricing decisions both move the bill. Model them on real shipment data rather than on the percentage alone.
Tariff Refund Calculator →A local intermediary, agent, or adviser engaged by a foreign company to help it deal with businesses and officials in that market.
Goods held under pressure in cylinders, classed under UN Class 2, acetylene and chlorine being typical. Cylinders can burst in heat or fire, contact with the liquefied contents can cause frostbite, and the contents may additionally be flammable, toxic, explosive, irritant, corrosive, or asphyxiating.
One of the fallback methods for valuing imports where transaction value cannot be used. The hierarchy runs from transaction value, to the transaction value of identical goods, then of similar goods, then deductive value, then computed value, the last two being reversible at the importer's request. Computed value builds the figure from materials, processing, profit, and general expenses.
Why it matters. Related party purchases are where transaction value most often fails and a fallback method becomes necessary. Deciding the method before entry is far cheaper than defending it at audit.
The use of computers across product development and production. The design side covers creating, changing, analyzing, and refining a design; the manufacturing side covers driving machine tools and related equipment that produce the parts.
Damage to what is inside a package whose exterior appears sound.
Why it matters. A clean delivery receipt makes concealed damage hard to pursue, and carrier notice periods for it are short. Open and inspect on receipt rather than when the goods are needed.
Missing contents from a package that shows no external sign of having been opened or damaged.
Yielding a right or point, and in trade negotiations specifically a binding commitment to reduce a tariff or open a market, recorded in a country's schedule.
An agreement settling a claim one party holds against another for a breach or wrong. A buyer who paid but never received goods might give up the right to sue in return for a refund.
An endorsement transferring a negotiable instrument only if a stated condition is satisfied, as opposed to a blank or special endorsement.
A voluntary grouping of ocean carriers formed to limit competition between members, typically by setting common tariffs and standardizing service terms. In the United States conferences required Federal Maritime Commission approval and held an antitrust exemption.
A carrier belonging to a conference and bound by its agreed services, practices, rates, and tariffs.
A liner service running to fixed schedules on set routes under a conference agreement, with rates aligned between the participating lines.
A freight rate agreed collectively by the carriers in a conference, most often in ocean trades.
The duty of discretion that stops privileged information being disclosed, whether it arises professionally, as for lawyers and doctors, or commercially under a non-disclosure agreement.
A written memorandum that ratifies an agreement which would otherwise be hard to prove or enforce. Parties who struck a deal orally may sign one setting out the terms they agreed.
An irrevocable credit carrying a second undertaking, usually from the advising bank, to pay the seller against conforming documents alongside the issuing bank's own promise. Confirmation is only added to irrevocable credits, and the buyer must ask for it when applying.
Why it matters. Confirmation replaces the issuing bank's risk, and its country risk, with a bank in your own market. It costs extra and is worth it wherever you would not lend the buyer's bank money unsecured.
A service in which an independent house takes on an export order at origin and pays the seller in its own currency. Cover can extend past the goods themselves to inland, air, and ocean carriage, forwarding fees, brokerage, and duty, so the whole movement from factory to end user is coordinated and financed as one.
The bank that adds its own promise to pay the seller under a letter of credit, standing behind the issuing bank once the credit's terms have been satisfied.
A verified, bar-coded declaration filed with Canadian customs to account for goods already released under the minimum documentation program.
A diamond extracted in a war zone and sold to fund insurgency, invasion, or terrorism. Concern over the trade led governments and the industry to agree the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2002, combining industry self-regulation with government certification of rough diamond shipments.
Why it matters. Rough diamonds need a Kimberley Process certificate to enter or leave participating countries, and shipments without one are refused. It is one of the earliest examples of an ethical sourcing rule enforced at the border.
The field concerned with which country's law governs when rights, obligations, injuries, or contracts touch more than one jurisdiction. The rules courts use to decide differ between countries and by subject matter.
Why it matters. A cross-border sale can be governed by a law neither party expected. Naming the governing law and the forum in the contract removes the question before it becomes a dispute.
A carrier physically joined to another, or one that bridges two or more carriers to complete a through movement.
The thing of value each side gives up under a contract in exchange for what the other provides. Common law systems treat it as essential to forming a binding agreement.
Combining shipments from several shippers, or several of one shipper's orders, into a single container or load so the freight moves at full-load economics rather than as separate small shipments.
Why it matters. Consolidating usually beats shipping LCL repeatedly on the same lane, both on rate and on handling damage. The tradeoff is waiting for the box to fill, so it works when you can plan orders around a sailing.
An endorsement by a country's consul, which may be applied to travel documents, consular invoices, certificates of origin, and shipping or other legal documents.
The office representing one country's commercial and citizen interests in another.
Goods made to meet the needs of individuals rather than to produce other goods, such as food, clothing, and entertainment products.
Canadian legislation setting how consumer goods sold in Canada must be packaged and labelled, including bilingual requirements and declarations of net quantity.
Why it matters. Labelling is a market access requirement, and relabelling after arrival is expensive. Confirm the rules before the production run, not at the border.
The formal declaration under which commercial goods enter a country's customs territory. Duty is paid and the goods are released from customs custody, whether from a port, a foreign trade zone, or a bonded warehouse.
A reusable steel box built to standard dimensions so it can move between ship, rail, and truck without the cargo inside being rehandled. The common sizes are twenty and forty foot, with high cube, reefer, open top, flat rack, and tank variants.
Why it matters. The standard box is why intermodal works, but its internal dimensions and payload limits are what actually constrain your load plan. Check both before designing pallet patterns.
The charge for packing cargo into containers or unpacking it from them.
A carrier-designated facility where LCL export cargo is received from shippers, consolidated, and loaded into containers, and where LCL import cargo is stripped from containers and released to consignees.
Why it matters. The CFS is where most LCL time is won or lost, since cargo waits for a container to fill at origin and for one to be stripped at destination. Build that into the door-to-door estimate rather than the ocean transit alone.
Cubeship LCL Consolidation →A consignment that fills a container, whether by reaching its cubic capacity or its weight limit.
A record of what is inside a container and where. It can be a simple list of contents, the loading sequence, a placement diagram, or a full schedule giving weights, measurements, marks, shippers, consignees, origins, destinations, and each item's position in the box.
Why it matters. Customs and the consignee both work from this document when a container is examined or partially delivered. A vague load plan turns a routine inspection into a full devanning.
A container carried directly on a rail flatcar without chassis, bogies, or wheels of its own.
A consignment whose volume and weight both fall short of filling a standard container.
A rigid container floor with no sides or ends, normally 20 or 40 feet long and fitted for standard handling, used in intermodal service for cargo that will not fit a closed box.
The four-letter code opening a container number that identifies its owner. In ABCD 123456 7, ABCD is the prefix, 123456 the serial, and 7 the check digit.
A U.S. customs program that stations officers at major foreign ports so U.S.-bound containers can be screened and, where necessary, examined before they are loaded rather than on arrival.
The unique marking on a container, made up of a three-letter owner code, a category letter, a six-digit serial, and a check digit. In ABCU 123456 7, ABC identifies the owner, U marks it as a freight container, 123456 is the serial, and 7 verifies the rest.
A vessel purpose-built to carry containers in cell guides, also called a container vessel.
A road trailer built to carry standard containers from 20 to 53 feet, some adjustable to handle a range of box lengths. Two axles on eight wheels is standard, with three axles available for heavier loads, and twist locks secure the container to the frame.
A well or platform railcar built to carry 20, 40, 45, 48, and 53 foot containers in various stacked arrangements.
The facility at the end of a sea, rail, road, or air link where containers and cargo are loaded, discharged, and transferred, normally with handling equipment, storage yards, repair shops, and operating offices on site.
An ocean ship built for standard containers, which sit in cell guides running several tiers below deck and several more above, locked together at the corners. Capacity ranges enormously between classes, and while box width and length are fixed, height varies between standard and high cube.
A market in which forward prices sit above the spot price, so a holder is effectively paid to defer delivery. The reverse condition is backwardation.
Cover protecting a party where it has to rely on someone else's insurance and that cover fails or falls short. Also called difference in conditions insurance, it arises in both directions. On export, some countries require marine cover to be placed locally, which shifts the buying decision to the importer and leaves the exporter unsure of the quality of cover. On import under CIF terms, the buyer depends on a policy the seller arranged abroad, with the same uncertainty.
Why it matters. Where you did not choose the underwriter, you do not know the terms. Contingency cover is cheap relative to the exposure it closes, and it responds when the other side's policy does not.
Cover taken by a seller against the risk of depending on the buyer's insurance. Selling on FOB terms and open account leaves the buyer responsible for insuring from loading onward, and if that cover turns out to be missing or inadequate the seller is exposed for goods it has shipped but not been paid for.
A supply arrangement under which stock is shipped regularly or automatically against forecast or measured demand. Systems on both sides can be linked so that when inventory falls below an agreed trigger level, a replenishment order is raised without human intervention.
An account carrying an offsetting entry against another, reducing its net balance.
Goods a country forbids to be produced, held, moved, or imported. Customs may detain, seize, forfeit, and destroy them. What qualifies varies widely: narcotics almost everywhere, alcohol in some jurisdictions, and various categories of publication or media in others.
An agreement between parties promising to do or refrain from specified acts, creating for each a legal duty and a right to a remedy if the other breaks it.
A carrier that moves goods or passengers for payment under individual negotiated agreements rather than offering itself to the public generally.
An arrangement under which one company makes a product to another's specification, on either an exclusive or a non-exclusive basis.
Why it matters. Tooling, designs, and materials you supply to a contract manufacturer are assists, and their value has to be added to declared customs value. Contract manufacturing is where importers most often miss that.
The agreement under which a carrier undertakes to move a shipper's goods by sea or air, evidenced by documents such as bills of lading and air waybills.
The agreement between shipper and carrier covering transport of the goods, including the terms of carriage and what the shipper pays. Those terms are printed on the transport document and cover matters such as liability limits, claim deadlines, indemnity, and how volumetric weight is calculated.
Why it matters. Nobody reads the back of the bill of lading until something goes wrong, and by then the liability cap and the claim deadline are already fixed. Read them once, for the carriers you actually use.
Bill of Lading Terms →The people or businesses entering an agreement that creates legal obligations, and in trade policy the countries that have signed a given agreement.
A United Nations convention setting uniform rules for how international sales contracts are formed and what buyer and seller owe each other. It applies automatically between traders in two ratifying countries unless they expressly exclude it or choose a different law.
A treaty adopted in 1973 to keep international trade from threatening the survival of wild animals and plants. Species are listed across three appendices according to how far trade endangers them, with the strictest controls on the first. Member states must pass their own implementing law, designate management and scientific authorities, issue permits, and report on trade.
Why it matters. CITES reaches far beyond obvious wildlife: timber species, leather, shell, coral, caviar, and some plant extracts are all listed. Permits must be issued before shipment, and goods arriving without them are seized.
Supplying non-nuclear weapons, aircraft, equipment, and military services from one state to another.
A currency that can be freely bought, sold, and exchanged for others without official restriction.
A document transferring title in property from one party to another. In transport the word also means the vehicle, vessel, or aircraft carrying the goods.
British usage for the legal work of transferring title in property between buyer and seller.
Extending freight networks into smaller communities by combining services under interline agreements, pairing truck with air, or linking regional and commuter carriers, often on a single joint rate. It works only where carriers, and often shippers, plan production and distribution schedules together in advance.
A licensing approach that uses copyright to guarantee rather than restrict freedom, granting rights to read, adapt, improve, and redistribute software on condition that derivative works carry the same terms.
The exclusive right the law gives a creator of literary, musical, or artistic work to copy, publish, and sell it, and to stop others doing so, for the term the statute allows. Protection generally begins once the work is fixed in some tangible form.
The capabilities most central to an organization's success, and particularly those that set it apart from others in the same field.
Exporting goods that are banned or expired at home into markets where the rules are looser or absent, as with out-of-date pharmaceuticals shipped to a country that does not restrict them.
A legal entity formed under the law of a jurisdiction and treated as separate from its shareholders. That separation gives shareholders limited liability and gives the company rights of its own, including holding property, contracting, and suing.
A bank holding deposits for another and collecting items such as drafts on its behalf, usually on reciprocal terms and frequently across borders.
Substances that destroy living tissue and eat into metal on contact, classed under UN Class 8, with sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, and alkaline liquids as examples. They burn skin and eyes, may be harmful inhaled, can give off toxic fumes in a fire, may react violently with water, can ignite combustibles, and may generate explosive gas.
What the goods sold in a period cost to acquire, transport costs included.
Materials, fabrication, and other processing needed to make goods for the home market or for export, plus a fair share of administrative and selling expense. It rests on what the producer actually spent and, unlike constructed value, adds no statutory minimum for overhead or profit.
Pricing under which the buyer reimburses actual labor, materials, and overhead, then pays a set percentage on top as profit. It suits work whose scope cannot be fixed in advance, such as research and development, where the supplier provides a team, management, and equipment against a specification.
In a dumping investigation, everything spent to produce the goods under examination: inputs, wages, and factory overhead of both the direct and the indirect kind.
Production carried out by people working in their own homes, often with their own tools, supplied with materials and paid by the piece rather than employed in a factory.
Why it matters. Home-based production sits outside factory audit programs, which makes forced labor and child labor screening harder. Where a supply chain reaches into it, traceability has to be built deliberately.
A three-member body in the U.S. executive office that analyzes the economy, advises the president on developments, assesses programs, and recommends policy for growth.
A regional body founded in May 1949 to promote unity and social and economic development among its member states, now numbering well over forty. Its work covers freedom of expression and assembly, equality, minority protection, child protection, online hate speech, and anti-corruption.
A not-for-profit body for logistics and supply chain practitioners, known until 2005 as the Council of Logistics Management. It works with industry and other organizations to advance the discipline, concentrating on communication between practitioners, research, and professional development.
A response to an offer that materially adds to, restricts, or alters its terms. A seller who accepts but substitutes a different specification has made one rather than accepting.
A countertrade arrangement in which the exporter commits to buy unrelated goods from the importing country, usually to an agreed value and within an agreed period, as a condition of the original sale.
A family of arrangements in which the seller must take goods or other instruments, rather than money alone, as part or all of the payment for what it supplies.
Additional duties charged on imports to cancel out the advantage of subsidies given to producers or exporters in the country of origin.
Why it matters. Scope is defined by the merchandise and the country, so changing supplier does not escape an order. The cash deposit rate can be specific to an exporter and producer combination or fall to the all-others rate, and it is a deposit, not the final liability.
Cubeship Customs Support →Cash taken at entry as estimated countervailing duty on goods from a country covered by an order. What is finally owed is fixed at liquidation and may exceed the deposit.
Commerce Department specialists who advise U.S. exporters market by market rather than product by product, tracking developments in an assigned country that affect trade and travel there.
The country a vessel or consignment leaves or is scheduled to leave.
The country where a vessel or consignment is ultimately bound.
The country from which the cargo was actually sent, which need not be where it was made.
Where the goods will be consumed, further processed, or manufactured, as the shipper understands it at the time of export. Where that is unknown, the statistics credit the last country the shipper knows the goods will reach unchanged.
The country from which goods were first exported, usually but not always where they were made. Swiss goods shipped to the United States through Frankfurt still have Switzerland as their country of exportation.
Where goods were wholly grown, mined, or produced, and by extension the country that determines duty rate, quota treatment, and any restrictions or prohibitions applying to them.
Why it matters. For most goods origin follows the last substantial transformation, but that is the general rule rather than the only one: trade agreements, textiles, and marking each apply their own product-specific tests. Establish which regime governs before you rely on an origin position.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The bundle of risks attaching to trading with, investing in, lending to, or holding assets in a particular country, arising from its political, economic, or social instability.
The U.S. federal court hearing disputes over customs and international trade matters, successor to the Customs Court after legislation in 1980 clarified and widened its jurisdiction and powers. It hears challenges to classification, valuation, and trade remedy determinations.
Why it matters. This is where a denied protest ultimately goes. Knowing the route exists changes how carefully you build the administrative record at protest stage.
European usage for the fee a broker charges for arranging a transaction, equivalent to brokerage or commission elsewhere.
The protection a policy actually provides: which perils it responds to, for how much, over what period, and subject to which exclusions.
A document from an insurer or broker, often called a broker's cover note, issued instead of a policy or certificate to evidence that cover has been arranged. Banks accept one under a letter of credit only where the credit expressly allows it.
A customs document letting travellers, competitors, and commercial vehicle owners bring a vehicle into a country temporarily, guaranteeing the duty and taxes that would fall due if it were not taken out again.
A rigid, self-supporting shipping container closed on all six sides, used for heavy, fragile, or awkward items. Wood is most common, but plastic, fiberglass, steel, and aluminium are all used, and a crate may be built onto a pallet base for handling.
Why it matters. Wooden crates and pallets are regulated packaging: ISPM 15 heat treatment and marking are required almost everywhere. Untreated wood gets the whole shipment refused, not just the packaging.
Programs under which carriers, brokers, and forwarders extend payment terms to shippers and consignees for freight, duty, and service charges rather than requiring settlement up front.
Cover against a buyer failing to pay for goods that have been delivered.
Why it matters. Credit insurance lets you offer open account terms to buyers you could not otherwise finance, which is often what wins the business. It also makes the receivable easier to borrow against.
A country owed more by the rest of the world than it owes in foreign currency obligations.
A sequence of small but cumulatively material changes to a company's position that ends in the state taking it over.
A member of a ship's or aircraft's crew.
A finding in a dumping case that the goods have a history of being dumped, or that the buyer was aware, or ought to have been aware, that the exporter was selling below fair value, together with large volumes arriving over a short period. The finding lets duties reach back to entries made before the preliminary determination.
Why it matters. This is what makes trade remedy exposure reach backwards. Rushing volume in ahead of an expected order can trigger it rather than avoid it.
An exchange rate between two currencies quoted without reference to the dollar.
The exposure created by transacting in two or more currencies at once, where movements between them can erode the value of the deal.
Transferring cargo straight from an inbound vehicle to an outbound one, skipping put-away and picking altogether so goods keep moving and handling cost falls.
Why it matters. Cross-docking only works when inbound timing and content are reliable, which is why it depends on accurate advance shipment notices. Without them it becomes an unplanned storage problem.
Cubeship Warehousing →Trade in which two firms each export certain products to the other while importing others from it, so the same pair of companies appears on both sides of the flow.
A check marked with two parallel lines across its face, which cannot be cashed over the counter. Whichever bank takes it in must route the funds through another bank, which then credits the payee. Some carry the words and company, and a special crossing names the institution that will honor it.
A digital medium of exchange secured by cryptography and issued through a decentralized network built on blockchain rather than by a central authority. Supporters point to transparency and independence from state control, while critics point to its use in illicit payments and its volatility.
Why it matters. Sanctions and anti-money-laundering rules still apply to a payment settled in crypto. Accepting it for cross-border trade does not remove the obligation to know who you are dealing with.
How much volume a container or hold can carry, expressed in cubic feet or cubic meters.
Dimensions Calculator →A volume measure equal to 1,728 cubic inches, or a cube one foot on each side.
A Canadian schedule of culturally significant objects maintained under cultural property legislation, allowing the government to block the export of listed items and to control imports of other countries' cultural property.
The physical form of a country's means of payment, such as the Swiss franc divided into 100 centimes.
How long cover runs, expressed either as a period of time or as a journey between two stated points, such as a year from a fixed date or from one named place to another.
A surcharge a carrier adds to offset movement in exchange rates, levied as a percentage of the published rate. Where a rate was published in a currency falling sharply, an emergency version may be applied on top.
Why it matters. CAF sits alongside BAF as a rate component that moves without the base rate changing. On long-term contracts, ask how and when it is recalculated.
Another name for a currency zone, the territory across which a single currency circulates.
A composite unit valued from several currencies, each weighted by its share of the whole. The European Currency Unit worked this way before the euro replaced it, and the IMF's Special Drawing Right still does.
The currency a sales contract requires payment in, usually a major one such as the dollar, yen, sterling, or euro. Which currency is chosen is a negotiating point with real economic weight, especially where a long gap separates contract from delivery or billing.
Why it matters. Whoever does not contract in their own currency carries the exchange exposure. If you buy in dollars from a supplier whose costs are in another currency, expect price pressure when that currency strengthens.
A contract giving the right, but not the duty, to exchange one currency for another at a set rate within a set period, used to cap exposure while keeping the benefit of a favorable move.
The chance of loss from adverse movement between the buyer's currency, the seller's currency, and whichever one the parties chose for settlement. Also called foreign exchange risk.
An arrangement holding participating European currencies within narrow bands against one another while allowing them to float together against outside currencies, a forerunner of monetary union.
An arrangement in which a party converts funds held in one currency into another and simultaneously contracts forward to reverse the exchange later, recovering what it borrowed.
A U.S. report financial institutions must file on cash transactions of ten thousand dollars or more, whether a deposit, withdrawal, exchange, or other transfer. The definition of a financial institution reaches beyond banks, and detailed rules exist to catch attempts to break a sum into smaller amounts.
Why it matters. Structuring payments to stay under the threshold is itself an offense. Where a supplier or buyer proposes it, that is a compliance signal about the wider relationship.
Restating assets or liabilities held in one currency into another for reporting purposes, with no money actually changing hands.
The area within which one currency circulates, usually but not always matching a country's borders. A supranational zone arises where separate currencies are tied together by convertibility or fixed rates.
The part of the balance of payments recording current rather than capital transactions: visible trade in goods, invisible trade in services, profits from foreign operations, interest, and transfers. British usage also applies the term to an ordinary bank checking account.
A country's total exports of goods and services less its total imports over a period, being the visible and invisible balances plus net interest, profit, and dividends received from abroad.
A liquidity measure showing how comfortably a business can meet near-term obligations, found by dividing current assets by current liabilities.
A receipt issued by a U.S. warehouse for goods taken into storage, in bill of lading form.
A long-published U.S. directory of ports, customs offices, brokers, forwarders, and related trade services.
Carrier equipment and software installed at a customer's own site so shipments can be processed there, covering waybill preparation, weighing, invoicing, and tracking.
The office where duties and other charges are paid and where the bulk of customs business is transacted and accounted for.
A fee-based U.S. government service supplying firms with market, pricing, and representation intelligence for their specific products. Staff abroad conduct interviews covering sales potential, comparable products, distribution channels, prevailing prices, competitive conditions, and qualified buyers.
The authority that regulates goods crossing a country's borders and collects the duties charged on them, the procedures involved in doing so, and the duties themselves.
The principal Canadian statute setting the legal framework for customs procedure, covering reporting, release, accounting, and enforcement.
The Canadian electronic channel for filing accounting documents on goods already released, and for querying customs records and receiving statements without paper.
A guarantee, backed by a surety, that an importer will pay all duties, taxes, and fees owed to customs and will meet its other legal obligations. It comes as a single-entry bond covering one shipment or a continuous bond covering a year of activity.
Why it matters. No bond means no entry. Anyone importing more than a few times a year is better off with a continuous bond, and bond sufficiency needs reviewing whenever duty exposure jumps, which recent tariff actions have made a live issue.
Cubeship Customs Support →An approved facility where imported goods are held until the importer pays duty, and where goods moving under bond are also stored.
A person or firm licensed by the customs authority to act for importers in handling entry formalities and the surrounding detail that lawful, prompt clearance depends on.
Why it matters. A broker files on your behalf under a power of attorney, but the importer of record remains legally responsible for what is declared. Review classifications and values rather than assuming the broker owns them.
Cubeship Customs Support →The heading in a tariff nomenclature that a product falls under, and the process of working out which heading applies within the system a country uses to code and describe traded goods.
The process of getting imported goods released by the border authority: filing the entry, declaring classification and value, satisfying any other agency requirements, and paying or securing the duties and fees owed.
Why it matters. Clearance stalls for boringly avoidable reasons more often than for real problems, usually a missing document, an unregistered other-agency requirement, or a value question nobody prepared for. Sending complete documents before arrival is most of the fix.
The standard Canadian declaration accounting for imported goods destined for commercial use. What it records establishes the value on which duty and tax are calculated and fixes the tariff classification applied.
The checks a customs authority carries out to confirm that trade rules are being followed, including examining goods, documents, and records, collecting duty and tax, and investigating prohibited or restricted shipments.
The intergovernmental body founded in 1953 in Brussels through which member customs administrations work to simplify and align their procedures. It took the name World Customs Organization in 1994.
The specialist U.S. court, sitting in New York, to which importers could appeal classification, valuation, and other customs determinations. Its jurisdiction now sits with the Court of International Trade.
The obligation to pay import or export duty to the customs authority, as defined under EU customs law.
A statement, written or oral, confirming the accuracy of the description, quantity, and value of goods presented for import.
A tax charged on goods crossing a border, set by tariff classification and origin and calculated as a percentage of value, a fixed amount per unit, or a combination of the two.
International work to make customs nomenclatures and procedures more uniform between countries. The most visible result is the internationally accepted commodity coding and description system now used for tariff, statistical, and other purposes.
The value customs itself sets on imported goods. It resembles an FAS figure in that it rests on the value in the country of origin and leaves out the cost of getting the goods to the importing country, but the difference is that customs, not the trader, has the final say.
A clearinghouse circulating information among U.S. customs officers.
The Canadian channel for sending customs data over the internet, covering accounting transmissions, release data, arrival messages, and release notifications, in production since mid-2000.
An invoice on a form the importing country's customs authority prescribes, required by only a small number of countries.
The route by which goods enter the EU customs territory. Eight are provided for: free circulation, transit, storage in a customs warehouse, inward processing, processing carried out under customs supervision, temporary admission, outward processing, and export.
Why it matters. Choosing the right procedure is where duty is saved. Inward processing and customs warehousing can remove duty entirely on goods that will leave again, but both need authorization before the goods arrive.
The five EU procedures needing specific authorization, and sometimes an assessment of the economic effect of the proposed import. They are warehousing, inward processing, processing carried out under customs control, temporary import, and outward processing.
Written determinations from the customs authority on matters such as classification, drawback, and country of origin. U.S. rulings are searchable in a public online database.
Why it matters. Someone has usually asked your question already. Searching prior rulings on a comparable product is the cheapest classification research available, and it shows how the agency reasons.
A Canadian certification allowing approved importers to account for and pay on imports through their own business systems rather than separate customs processes, with parallel approval available for carriers and registered drivers.
The principal Canadian statute governing collection of customs duty, including the rules on remission and on valuation.
The area over which a country applies its import and export rules and duties. Some possessions and special economic areas, foreign trade zones among them, sit outside it.
Why it matters. An FTZ is physically inside the country but legally outside its customs territory, which is exactly why duty is deferred there. That distinction is the whole basis of zone economics.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →An agreement among countries to remove tariffs and quotas between themselves and to apply a shared external tariff and trade policy toward everyone else.
Determining the value on which ad valorem duty is calculated, following a fixed hierarchy of methods that starts with the transaction value of the goods themselves and moves down only when a method cannot be applied.
Why it matters. Valuation is where most large duty exposures live, because additions like assists, royalties, and proceeds are owed even when they never appear on the commercial invoice. Related-party pricing draws particular scrutiny.
A code negotiated in the Tokyo Round to give customs valuation a uniform, fair, and predictable international basis and stop arbitrary national methods being used as disguised trade barriers. Also called the GATT Valuation Code, it makes transaction value the primary method, meaning the price genuinely paid or owed plus certain prescribed additions.
The ways a customs authority arrives at the value duty is charged on. Signatories to the international code must take transaction value as the primary basis, being the price genuinely paid or owed for the goods, with a defined hierarchy of alternatives where that cannot be used.
Why it matters. The methods run in order, but not rigidly: an importer may ask for computed value to be considered before deductive value. A related-party sale does not automatically fail transaction value either, provided the relationship did not influence the price or the value closely approximates a test value.
The value a customs authority places on an imported consignment, used to assess duty and tax and to compile trade statistics. How it is arrived at differs between countries, resting variously on transaction value in the country of origin or on an FAS-style figure.
Holding goods in an approved warehouse under customs control. In the EU it lets non-Union goods be stored without import duty or commercial policy measures applying, and lets Union goods be stored where measures normally requiring export are to be applied.
A voluntary U.S. program in which importers, carriers, brokers, warehouse operators, and manufacturers commit to securing their supply chains and to holding their business partners to the same standards. Companies apply, sign an agreement, and are validated on site.
Why it matters. Certification lowers your examination rate and gives access to priority processing when the border tightens. The cost is a real security program with documented partner requirements, not a form.
How long an activity or a chain of related events takes from start to finish.
The widest of the three standard marine cargo wordings issued by the London market, covering loss or damage from any external cause except what the policy expressly excludes. It is the all risks level, and the one most letters of credit call for.
Why it matters. Cover A is the practical default for manufactured goods. Its exclusions still bite, particularly insufficient packing, delay, and inherent vice, so the exclusions are the part worth reading.
The middle of the three standard London market cargo wordings. Rather than covering all external causes, it lists the perils insured, adding to the minimum cover events such as earthquake, volcanic eruption, lightning, and water damage from sea, lake, or river entering the vessel or storage place.
The narrowest of the three standard London market cargo wordings, confined to major casualty events such as fire or explosion, the vessel stranding, sinking, or capsizing, collision, and general average sacrifice. Ordinary handling damage and theft fall outside it.
Why it matters. Cover C is cheap because it pays for very little. Accepting it under a CIF purchase leaves most realistic loss scenarios uninsured.
A historic speculative marine wager that paid out if world shipping tonnage lost in a calendar year fell short of a stated figure. Because the holder had no insurable interest it was not enforceable as insurance, and such slips were often marked policy proof of interest. Lloyd's banned the practice in the 1970s.
135 terms in this group.
The Canadian series of published directives setting out customs regulations and guidance for importing and exporting, including the requirements of other departments that customs enforces at the border.
Documents against acceptance. A collection in which the bank releases the shipping documents once the buyer accepts a time draft, giving the buyer possession of the goods before payment falls due.
Why it matters. D/A hands over the goods against a promise, not against money. The seller is an unsecured creditor from that moment unless a bank has added its name to the draft.
Articles and substances capable of posing significant risk to health, safety, or property in transport, classified under the ICAO technical instructions and the IATA regulations for air, with parallel regimes for sea and road. They may move domestically and internationally subject to packing, marking, documentation, and quantity rules.
Why it matters. Declaring dangerous goods correctly is the shipper's duty, and an undeclared hazard is a serious offense rather than a paperwork error. Lithium batteries are the category that catches ordinary consumer goods importers.
The IATA manual setting out which dangerous goods may travel by air and under what packing, labelling, quantity, and documentation conditions, reissued annually.
A short-form report of an individual shipment under an open cargo policy, giving the vessel and sailing date, origin and destination, the commodity, a description of the units, the sum insured, and the policy number. The assured prepares these and sends them in as shipments occur.
The value a shipper states to the carrier, which sets the freight charge and fixes the ceiling on what the carrier will pay for loss, damage, or delay.
Why it matters. Declaring a higher value raises the freight bill and lifts the liability cap, but carrier liability is still not insurance. For most cargo, separate cover costs less and pays more.
The selling price of the consignment, or its replacement cost where it is not being sold, stated to customs as the basis for duty.
Breaking a consolidated container down into its individual shipments at destination so each consignee's cargo can be released and delivered separately.
Why it matters. Deconsolidation is where a shared container's timeline stops being yours: your cargo cannot move until the box is stripped and every consignee's paperwork is in order. Ask who controls the CFS before agreeing to a co-load.
The part of a loss the insured carries itself, set either as a fixed sum or as a percentage of the claim. A higher deductible generally buys a lower premium.
An amount taken off every partial loss the policy covers, so the assured always bears a share.
A fallback customs valuation method built from the price the imported goods resell for in the importing country, starting with a unit price and making prescribed additions and deductions.
A branch of machine learning using layered networks that can learn from unstructured or unlabelled data, applied to tasks such as speech recognition and visual identification.
A high-capacity box trailer for bulky, fragile, light cargo such as furniture, household goods, and electronics. It uses rear and side swing doors, a lowered rear deck for easier loading and more cube, air-ride suspension to protect fragile items, and lockable belly storage.
Stock that is damaged or defective, whether harmed in the warehouse, damaged in transit and returned, or damaged in transit where the buyer was credited and a freight claim remains open.
Redirecting resources, technology, manufacturing capacity, and people from defense work into civilian production.
Defense cooperation agreements the U.S. Department of Defense signs with allied governments, covering procurement, technology sharing, and related arrangements.
A U.S. interagency committee formed in 1990, drawing on Commerce, Defense, State, and the trade representative's office, to align policy on defense trade. It works with industry to reduce government obstacles, streamline procedure, and improve market information for exporters.
Air service for less urgent cargo, delivered over a span of days at a lower rate.
A credit under which the buyer obtains the documents and the goods against an undertaking to settle with the issuing bank on a fixed later date, with no draft drawn at all.
An agent who not only sells for the principal but also guarantees that the buyers it introduces will pay, charging a premium above the ordinary commission for carrying that credit risk.
The risk that a counterparty will not, or cannot, meet its payment obligations.
A policy term shutting out claims for a lost market, and for loss, damage, or deterioration that delay brings about. Nearly every marine cargo policy carries one.
Why it matters. This is why a missed selling season is not an insurable loss, however clearly the delay caused it. Perishables and seasonal goods need the exposure managed in the supply plan rather than through cargo cover.
An Incoterms 2010 rule under which the seller delivered once the goods were unloaded at a named terminal. The 2020 revision replaced it with Delivered at Place Unloaded, which works the same way but is not limited to a terminal.
Incoterms Guide →The Incoterms 2020 rule placing the greatest obligation on the seller, which delivers the goods cleared for import at the named destination, having borne carriage, risk, export and import formalities, and duty.
Why it matters. DDP requires the seller to act as importer of record in the buyer's country, which many sellers cannot legally do. That is why DDP quotes often quietly become DAP at the border.
Incoterms Guide →The carrier responsible for placing the consignment at the consignee's disposal at the address shown on the transport document.
Directions to a forwarder or carrier stating exactly where goods are to be delivered, by when, and who to contact if there is a problem.
An instruction to a terminal, carrier, or warehouse to hand freight to a named party. It may come from the consignee, shipper, or cargo owner; from a line authorizing release once freight charges are settled; or it may cover specified packages out of a larger consignment travelling on one bill of lading.
Why it matters. The delivery order is what actually gets the box out of the terminal, and it depends on freight being paid and customs released first. Chasing it early is how you avoid free time running out.
The change in a variable, and in options trading the rate at which an option's value moves as the underlying price moves.
An international non-profit body for transportation and logistics professionals, offering student mentoring and support, continuing education, and updates on regulatory change affecting the industry.
A request for payment of a debt or other sum due. A demand clause lets the holder of a note require the whole balance at once if an installment is missed.
The view that consumer demand pulls goods through the distribution network, set against the supply chain view in which producers and their marketing and logistics functions push goods toward the consumer.
A formal diplomatic communication conveying one government's official position or request to another government or to an international organization.
A lease of property. A demise charter of a vessel is the same thing as a bareboat charter.
A charge for holding cargo inside the terminal beyond the free time allowed, and by extension for detaining a railcar or vessel past the loading or discharge period. It is distinct from detention, which covers carrier equipment kept outside the terminal, though the two are often confused on invoices.
Why it matters. Demurrage accrues per container per day on a rising scale, so a few days costs more than the delay suggests. It is usually a symptom of customs holds or dray scheduling, which means it is largely preventable.
Cubeship Services →Checking customers, suppliers, banks, carriers, and end users against government lists of parties that may not be dealt with, or may only be dealt with under licence.
Why it matters. The obligation is continuous, not a one-time onboarding check, because designations are added constantly and can catch an existing customer overnight. Rescreen before every shipment and every payment.
Lists maintained by the U.S. export control authority naming individuals and firms stripped of export privileges, particularly for strategic and controlled goods. Each denial order is published officially and those orders are the authoritative record.
Why it matters. Screening every counterparty against denied party lists is a legal requirement, not diligence. It covers freight forwarders and consignees, not only the buyer.
Weight per unit of volume, typically pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic meter.
Why it matters. Density decides whether you pay on weight or on volume, and it drives freight class for LTL. Improving it through better cartonization often beats renegotiating the rate.
Dimensions Calculator →The Canadian ministry responsible for foreign affairs and international trade, handling diplomatic and consular relations and promoting the country's trade, including work to strengthen rules-based trading arrangements and widen market access bilaterally, regionally, and multilaterally.
Money market operations in which banks place and take short-term deposits between themselves.
Balances held in bank, giro, and postal giro accounts that can be turned into notes and coin at any time but are normally used for cashless payment. Also called bank or giro money.
Cash lodged at entry for goods covered by an antidumping order, set for each manufacturer, producer, or exporter at the margin by which foreign market value exceeds the U.S. price.
Writing off the cost of an asset against earnings across its useful life, and more generally a fall in the value of property or an asset. In foreign exchange the word means a decline in one currency against another.
The second-ranking officer at an embassy, responsible for day-to-day operations across its departments and acting as head of mission when the ambassador is away.
A tradable contract whose value comes from underlying assets, whether currencies, options on them, physical commodities, or pooled obligations. The main forms are futures, forwards, options, and swaps.
Money an owner pays out when cargo work finishes inside the time allowed, rewarding the shipper or receiver for speed. It is the mirror image of demurrage.
The place a consignment is consigned to, as named on the transport document.
A Canadian customs notice issued to an importer within 30 days of an accounting declaration, identifying errors, explaining any administrative change and its reasons, stating what is owed, and setting out appeal rights.
Holding a carrier's driver, trailer, or container beyond the free time allowed, and the charge that follows. It is distinct from demurrage, which is terminal time on the cargo, and from a customs detention order, which is the government holding goods while it decides whether to release them.
Why it matters. Detention and demurrage run on different clocks and are routinely mixed up on invoices. Warehouse turnaround and empty return appointments drive detention, making it a yard problem rather than a freight problem.
What a carrier bills the shipper or consignee for keeping its driver or trailer past the free time allowed. It is an accessorial service and charge.
Cover for storage and upkeep costs incurred when goods are held up clearing customs at a foreign port.
Reducing a national currency's value against others. It makes imports dearer in local money and exports cheaper abroad, which dampens import demand and lifts export demand, and can therefore help close a payments deficit and buy time for adjustment.
Why it matters. A devaluation in a sourcing market lowers your cost in dollar terms, but suppliers usually seek a price increase to recover. Watch the currency alongside the quote.
Public or multilateral funding aimed at economic development in lower-income countries, provided as concessional loans, guarantees, equity, or grants, often alongside private capital.
Why it matters. These institutions frequently finance the infrastructure projects that generate large capital equipment shipments, and their procurement rules shape who can bid. Worth tracking if you move project cargo.
A billing weight calculated from a shipment's volume rather than its actual mass, used so that light bulky freight pays for the space it occupies. Carriers charge on whichever is greater, actual or dimensional.
Why it matters. For air and parcel, packaging decisions change the invoice as much as the goods do, because an inch of extra carton can push a shipment into the next weight break. Measure the packed carton, not the product.
Dimensions Calculator →Investment made to hold a lasting interest in a business operating in another country. U.S. statistics set the threshold at ownership or control of a tenth of the voting stock in an incorporated enterprise, or a comparable stake where the business is unincorporated.
An exchange rate expressing one unit of the home currency in terms of a foreign one at a given moment.
Goods moving from the exporting country straight to the importing country, without being transshipped through a third.
Why it matters. Some preference programs require direct shipment, so routing through a hub can cost you the duty saving. Where transshipment is unavoidable, keep evidence that the goods stayed under customs control.
Shipping high-volume repeat products from the producer straight to the store, so the retailer never warehouses or handles them itself. Orders go out electronically or manually once stock drops below an agreed level, and the producer carries the distribution.
An instruction governing action or procedure, and in EU law a legislative act binding member states as to the result to be achieved while leaving them to choose how.
The U.S. State Department office licensing exports of items with primarily military significance, as set out in the arms regulations and the munitions list. Where an item could fall under either the munitions rules or the dual-use rules, State may assert jurisdiction.
Why it matters. Munitions-controlled items require State licensing, not Commerce licensing, and the penalties are heavier. Parts and technical data can be caught even where the finished article is not.
Unloading cargo or passengers from a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft.
An informal session in which the trade administration explains to the parties how it arrived at the result of an antidumping investigation or administrative review.
The annualized rate of discount on debt issued below par, such as Treasury bills, and separately the rate at which a central bank rediscounts eligible paper for financial institutions.
The condition where a currency can be bought more cheaply for future delivery than for immediate delivery, so it stands at a discount forward against the other currency.
Selling a commodity or an instrument below face value for immediate payment. Under a term letter of credit the beneficiary can discount its claim to be paid now: the bank credits the document value less the discount, keeping a right of recourse where the credit is unconfirmed but not where it is confirmed.
Why it matters. Discounting turns a deferred payment into cash today at a known cost. Whether the bank keeps recourse is the difference between selling the receivable and borrowing against it.
Faults in documents presented under a letter of credit: information that conflicts with the credit's terms, that contradicts another document in the set, or that fails the international rules the credit is issued under. Missing documents count too.
Why it matters. A majority of first presentations contain a discrepancy, and each one hands the buyer a discretionary right to refuse. Check the documents against the credit before they leave you, not after the bank rejects them.
Refusal by the party liable on an instrument to pay or accept it when it is duly presented.
A finding that an antidumping petition fails: it does not properly allege grounds on which duties could be imposed, lacks supporting information the petitioner could reasonably obtain, or was not filed by a qualifying interested party.
A payment from a vessel's operator to a charterer when cargo work finishes inside the agreed laytime, rewarding speed. Spelled despatch in much of the trade.
Personal income after income and other taxes, leaving what is available to spend or save.
Resolving a conflict, usually by compromise between competing claims and sometimes through a neutral third party such as an arbitrator.
Seizing or holding a party's property to secure its performance of some act, as where a court orders property held to ensure a party appears or is represented at a hearing.
Moving goods and services from production out to wherever the customer can conveniently buy them. Logistics is the wider term, covering the flow from raw material through manufacture to the point the finished product is needed.
A contract between a manufacturer, typically exporting from one country, and a distributor importing into another, covering sale of the product within a defined market.
Why it matters. Termination provisions and territory are the clauses that matter, and in some countries local law protects distributors regardless of what the contract says. Check the local rules before you appoint.
An export authorization permitting repeated shipments of approved goods to foreign consignees cleared in advance, and letting those consignees ship on between one another and to a defined set of permitted destinations.
A method for running a distribution network and tying it back to manufacturing, forecasting stock needs at each node and working out how they will be met. It builds on manufacturing resource planning and can reach from outlying warehouses back to the production line.
An airline service taking one consignment from a single shipper, moving it as one, then splitting it at destination for delivery to many receivers.
A party that buys from a supplier, holds stock of its products, and sells them on in a given market, unlike an agent that sells without taking title.
Volunteer bodies attached to U.S. Commercial Service district offices, formed to support exporters with counselling and local trade promotion.
Selling goods below fair value into a third country, where they are processed further and then shipped on to another market.
A customs inspection in which a container is opened and examined thoroughly, as against a tailgate exam that is only a visual check at the gate. The box may have to be devanned for the officers to work.
Why it matters. A dock exam costs devanning, restuffing, and days of free time, and the importer pays for all of it. It is the outcome C-TPAT membership and a clean filing record are meant to make less likely.
A receipt from a warehouse supervisor or port officer confirming the shipping company has taken the goods. It passes accountability from the inland carrier that brought the export cargo to the port over to the international carrier.
The banking rule that documents presented under a letter of credit must match, on their face, exactly what the credit calls for, and that its terms, the expiry date among them, must be met precisely. The principle is not stated as such in the international rules but underpins how they are applied.
Why it matters. Banks are not judging whether the shipment was fine, only whether the paper matches. A single inconsistent description or a date a day late is enough to defeat a presentation.
An original or official paper serving as proof or support of something, and more broadly any recorded information whatever its form, including printed matter, charts, drawings, working notes, reproductions, and electronic or magnetic records.
The formal name for a letter of credit, a bank undertaking to pay against documents that conform to stated terms.
A payment method in which the seller ships the goods but instructs its bank to collect from the buyer in exchange for the documents that give access to them. Under documents against payment the bank releases them only against payment; under documents against acceptance it releases them against the buyer accepting a time draft.
Why it matters. A collection is cheaper than a letter of credit but carries no bank promise to pay. The bank simply handles documents, so if the buyer walks away you are left with cargo at a foreign port.
The buyer's formal list of the documents the seller must produce, above all the shipping documents, as set out in a documentary credit.
The financial and commercial papers covering a transaction. In international trade these may run to the commercial invoice, a consular or customs version of it, evidence of origin, the transport document, inspection certificates, and drafts, and in banking to whatever a credit or collection requires.
A collection under which the bank hands over the shipping documents once the buyer accepts a time draft, so the goods are released before payment falls due.
A collection under which the bank hands over the shipping documents only once the buyer has paid.
One of two shortened two-hour watches in the early evening, used so the crew's watch rotation shifts from day to day rather than repeating.
The round of multilateral trade negotiations launched at Doha in November 2001, involving well over a hundred participants and aimed at lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers. It stalled over agriculture, industrial market access, and the balance of obligations between developed and developing members.
Exports of goods grown, produced, or made in the country, together with goods of foreign origin altered from the state in which they arrived, including work done inside foreign trade zones, or whose value has been raised by further manufacture there.
A U.S. entity type created to give exporters a tax deferral benefit, subject to tests requiring the great bulk of its income to come from exports and the great bulk of its assets to be export-related.
A superseded U.S. designation for airlines operating between major population centers, now covered by the major carrier classification.
The place at which a draft or acceptance is made payable.
A tractor hauling two trailers in tandem, joined by a converter dolly.
A corporate tax structure using payments between related entities to shift income from higher-tax to low or no-tax jurisdictions, resting on gaps in transfer pricing rules that have since been legislated against.
A tariff schedule carrying two sets of rates, one applying to goods from preferred trading partners and the other to goods from countries without that status.
Why it matters. The second column is why origin matters so much. Goods from a country outside normal trade relations can face rates many times the standard one.
A producer selling below cost to a secondary manufacturer in its own home market, which then processes the goods further and exports them.
The vertical distance from a vessel's waterline down to the bottom of its keel, which fixes the minimum water depth the ship needs to move safely.
Why it matters. Draft limits decide which ports and canals a vessel can use, and a draft-restricted berth can cap how much cargo loads. It is one reason a direct service is not always available.
A refund of duties, taxes, and fees already paid on imported goods that are later exported, destroyed under customs supervision, or used to make something that is exported. Most claims recover 99 percent of what was paid.
Why it matters. Drawback is the largest refund most importers never claim, and you can generally reach back five years. If you import and also export, or your customer does, it is worth checking before assuming it does not apply.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The party a draft is drawn on and who owes the stated amount. In a documentary collection that is the buyer.
The party that issues and signs a draft and expects to be paid the stated amount by the drawee. In a documentary collection that is the seller.
A vehicle used for short-haul cartage, originally a low flat cart and now generally a truck moving containers between port and yard.
Short-haul trucking of a container between a port or rail terminal and a nearby warehouse, yard, or transload facility, and the charge for it.
Why it matters. Drayage is short in distance but decisive in timing. A missed dray appointment is one of the commonest causes of demurrage, because free time keeps running whether or not a truck showed up.
Cubeship Services →U.S. rules capping how many hours a driver may operate in interstate commerce over a day and a week.
Why it matters. Hours of service limits are why a dray cannot simply wait out a long terminal queue. A driver timing out turns a delayed pickup into a lost day.
The personal rights an author or creator holds over a work, separate from the economic rights of copyright. They typically include the right to be identified as author and the right to object to changes that would damage the creator's honor or reputation.
Leaving a trailer, railcar, or container at a customer site for the customer to load or unload in its own time.
The date a bulk mailing is handed to the postal service or courier.
A model in which a retailer takes a customer order and passes it straight to the manufacturer or wholesaler for direct fulfilment, never holding the stock itself.
Why it matters. When goods ship direct from a foreign factory to a consumer, the retailer can still be the importer of record with all the compliance that carries. Sort out who declares what before you launch the channel.
A charge levied for returning or delivering a container to a location other than where it was picked up.
A cylindrical shipping container for dry or liquid bulk, made from steel, dense fiberboard, or plastic, and often called a barrel. Liquid chemicals are the classic contents.
An aircraft lease under which the lessor supplies only the aircraft for an hourly fee against a minimum number of hours, leaving the lessee to provide crew, maintenance, insurance, scheduling, airport fees, handling, and fuel. It is the counterpart to an ACMI or wet lease.
A road trailer for free-flowing dry commodities such as grain, meal, feed, rice, beans, gravel, limestone, and sand. Hoppers come singly or in twos and threes, in open and closed configurations, run as singles, tandems, or road trains, and use rolled tarpaulin tops rather than rigid covers.
A container built to carry dry solids that flow freely, grain and sand being typical.
An ocean ship for dry bulk, typically flush-decked with weathertight hatches over the holds and sometimes fitted with its own cranes. Cargoes include coal, phosphates, ores, grain, fertilizer, animal feed, and scrap, loaded by gravity chute or by shore or shipboard equipment.
Any container built for goods other than liquids, the standard box used for general containerized freight.
A situation where a single currency has two or more official rates, often one for trade and another for capital or tourism.
Why it matters. Where a dual rate exists, which rate applies to your payment materially changes the price. Confirm the rate basis in the contract rather than assuming the published one.
A motor carrier registered to work both as a common carrier and as a contract carrier.
Selling the same product into different markets at different prices, a pattern that often signals dumping.
Any material, component, finished good, hardware, software, or technology with both civilian and military application, or developed for civilian use but capable of military use or of contributing to weapons of mass destruction. Such items are not weapons and are traded legitimately every day.
Why it matters. Dual-use controls catch ordinary commercial products such as machine tools, sensors, encryption, and certain chemicals. Classification against the control list is a separate exercise from tariff classification.
A conference pricing arrangement giving discounted rates to shippers who sign exclusive commitments to use conference lines.
Uninterrupted movement of goods from origin to destination with no delay caused by the cargo owner. Marine cover has traditionally attached only while the goods are in due course of transit, so a decision to warehouse them midway can break it.
Why it matters. Deliberately holding cargo mid-journey, to wait out a market or a duty change, can quietly void cover. Tell the underwriter before you do it.
Systematic investigation and verification of information before committing to a transaction, standard before buying or investing in a business, awarding a major contract, lending, or issuing securities. It can extend to financial references, background checks on principals, and direct interviews.
Why it matters. In trade the same discipline applies to suppliers: who actually manufactures, where, and under what labor conditions. Forced labor enforcement makes that a customs question, not only an ethical one.
Selling goods into a foreign market below fair value, normally meaning below the price charged at home or to third countries.
The gap between the price charged in the importing market and fair value, whether measured against the home market price, a third country price, or constructed value. It is stated as a percentage of what the importer paid.
Why it matters. The margin becomes your duty rate, and it is set per producer. Two factories in the same country can carry margins that differ by an order of magnitude.
Material packed around cargo to stop it shifting and being damaged. The shipper normally supplies it, and its weight is included when the shipment is rated.
Why it matters. Poor blocking and bracing is the most common cause of transit damage, and it is also an insurance exclusion under insufficient packing. Dunnage weight is billable, but it is far cheaper than a claim you cannot recover.
Products not used up in the using, such as vehicles, furniture, and machinery.
Threats, violence, or other coercion used to make someone act against their judgment, such as signing a contract. Agreements made under it are often void or voidable.
The goods in a country's tariff schedule on which import duty is charged, as opposed to those admitted free.
A Canadian program relieving an importer of duty on goods that will ultimately be exported, whether in the same state or after being consumed or used in producing something else.
Why it matters. This is Canada's answer to drawback, but it works by relief up front rather than refund afterwards. Getting authorized before importing is what makes the difference.
A tax a government charges on goods being imported, exported, or consumed, most often levied on imports by the customs authority. It may be calculated on value, on weight or quantity, or on a combination of the two.
Tariff Refund Calculator →Shops at land borders and in international airports selling goods without local duty and tax. Buying there does not remove the destination country's own import rules, and duty or tax may still fall due on arrival.
Exemption from paying customs duty. In the EU it applies in defined circumstances set out by regulation, covering outward processing, certain special situations, returned goods, and products of sea fishing.
Adjusting price continuously in response to demand, capacity, and competitor behavior rather than holding to a published rate.
Why it matters. Ocean and air freight increasingly price this way, which is why a quote can expire in days. Rate validity is now a negotiating point in its own right.
161 terms in this group.
Buying and selling goods or services online. It sits within the wider field of electronic business and specifically covers the ability to complete a transaction over a network, and it takes in electronic data interchange, the structured exchange of business documents between computer systems.
Advance data truck carriers send U.S. customs covering crew, conveyance, equipment, and shipment detail so processing can begin before the vehicle reaches the border. It is due an hour before arrival at a land port, or half an hour for carriers in a trusted trader program.
Why it matters. The manifest is the carrier's filing and the entry is yours, but a manifest error still stops your freight. When a truck is held at the border, establish which filing failed before chasing the wrong party.
An EU certification and labelling scheme helping consumers identify products made with lower environmental impact across their whole life, from raw material extraction through production and use to disposal.
A West African regional bloc created in the 1970s, spanning fifteen member states. It works as a free trade area for farm goods and raw materials, and as a preferential zone for industrial products that qualify, with a regional levy standing in for import duty on eligible trade.
Embassy staff who analyze macroeconomic trends and trade policy abroad and report on what they mean for their own country's policy, and who take part in economic and commercial negotiations.
The order size that best balances meeting demand against the combined cost of ordering and of holding stock.
Why it matters. Ocean lead times and container economics distort the classic calculation, because ordering less often may mean shipping LCL at a higher unit cost. Run it on landed cost, not on purchase price.
A trade bloc combining a common market with a customs union, whose members generally share product regulation and external trade policy. Some, the European Union among them, also share a currency.
An area inside a country granted more liberal economic rules than the country at large. Firms operating there can generally bring in materials and components and re-export finished goods free of duty and tax, with other privileges varying by country.
Travel to places of unusual natural or ecological value that limits its impact on land and wildlife while contributing to their preservation, and the services that support it.
The European Currency Unit, a weighted basket of member state currencies used as a unit of account before the euro replaced it.
U.S. banking subsidiaries, held by bank holding companies or by banks, established specifically to carry on international business.
Electronic Data Interchange: moving structured data between computer applications using agreed message standards with minimal human handling, whether between businesses or between business and government.
Why it matters. Retailer and customs EDI compliance is usually contractual, and malformed or late messages draw chargebacks. Confirm which message set and version a partner expects before onboarding.
A very large container ship class named for economy of scale, energy efficiency, and environmental improvement, carrying upwards of 18,000 TEU.
The spot rate actually paid or received in practice, once taxes or subsidies on the transaction and any bank commission are taken into account.
A replenishment approach that feeds point-of-sale data back through every stage of the supply chain so demand is met quickly and at the lowest cost.
A European Commission program replacing paper customs procedures with electronic ones across the Union, intended both to strengthen security at the external border and to make trade easier.
Structured exchange of business documents between computer systems in an agreed format, without a person rekeying them: purchase orders, invoices, shipping instructions, status messages, and customs filings.
Why it matters. EDI is what makes filings arrive on time at volume, and most missed ISF deadlines trace to data that never made it into the feed rather than to anyone forgetting. Map the fields once and the deadlines take care of themselves.
A Canadian release program letting importers transmit release and invoice data electronically for an officer to review, with the decision returned through the release notification system.
The full name behind UN/EDIFACT, the international EDI message standard used widely outside North America, where ANSI X12 predominates.
Transmitting to customs, by electronic means, both the data needed to release the goods and the summary data used to classify and value them, verify statistics, and confirm compliance with the law.
Moving money between accounts by electronic instruction rather than by handing over paper such as a check.
Sending import or export data through an authorized electronic data interchange system, whatever the underlying network or connection.
An extra surcharge a carrier applies when exchange rates move sharply or persistently against the currency a rate was published in, charged as a percentage of that rate.
A reference produced jointly by the North American transport authorities for firefighters, police, and other first responders arriving at an incident involving hazardous materials, built around rapid identification of what is involved and the immediate protective action to take.
The WTO provision allowing developed members to give developing countries more favorable treatment, and the least developed among them special treatment, without breaching most favored nation obligations.
An amendment altering a policy's original wording, attached either at inception or later. It can be as minor as a change of address or as substantial as adding or removing cover. In banking and shipping the word instead means signing a negotiable instrument or document of title to transfer it.
One of the twelve traditional marine perils, covering loss or damage from hostile acts by an enemy state or its nationals.
U.S. measures tightening control over goods and technology useful in chemical and missile weapons programs, giving the authorities wider grounds to refuse even low-level exports to countries of proliferation concern.
Why it matters. This is the basis of catch-all controls: an item can require a license because of who is buying it and what they intend, even when the item itself is uncontrolled. Knowing the end use is the exporter's job.
A U.S. initiative launched in June 1990 to reshape economic relations with Latin America across trade, investment, debt, and environment, working toward free trade agreements with markets in the region and particularly with groups of countries already integrating among themselves.
Integrated software tying together forecasting, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, and finance so resources can be planned across the whole business rather than function by function.
A U.S. list naming foreign businesses, research institutions, government bodies, individuals, and other parties subject to specific licensing requirements for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of named items. Each listing sets out what applies to that party.
Why it matters. An Entity List designation can make an otherwise uncontrolled shipment licensable, and the presumption is often denial. Screen the consignee, the end user, and the freight parties, and rescreen before each shipment.
A person or organization, whether sole proprietorship, partnership, or company, able to enter contracts and to sue or be sued.
An intermediate storage point holding goods for a time before they are distributed inside the country or sent onward abroad. The word comes from the French for a place set between.
Importing and re-exporting goods without processing them, typically by a country or business acting as an intermediary.
Why it matters. Goods that merely pass through a hub do not take that hub's origin. Buying from a trading company in an entrepôt still means declaring the country where the goods were actually made.
The declaration of what is being imported, in what quantity and at what value, together with any duty owed, and the wider process and paperwork by which imported goods are released from customs custody.
The papers customs requires before it will release an imported consignment.
Entering goods for use in the importing country. It runs in two parts: filing what customs needs to decide whether the goods can be released, then filing the information used to assess duty and compile statistics. For some goods, quota merchandise among them, everything must be filed together.
An entry that postpones release and duty by placing goods in a bonded warehouse, where they may sit for up to five years from importation. During that time they can be re-exported free of duty or withdrawn for consumption at the rate in force on the day of withdrawal.
Why it matters. The rate applied is the rate on withdrawal, not on arrival, which cuts both ways when tariffs are moving. Warehousing is a way to wait out a rate change, or to be caught by one.
Cubeship Warehousing →The unique eleven-character reference an entry filer assigns to each transaction: three characters identifying the filer, seven forming the filer's own sequence, and a final check digit.
The filing that declares to customs what was imported, how it is classified, what it is worth, and how much duty is owed. In the United States it is filed on CBP Form 7501, generally within ten working days of release.
Why it matters. Release gets the goods moving; the entry summary is what customs actually audits. Errors found here are correctable by post summary correction before liquidation, which is much cheaper than a protest afterwards.
The EU advance security declaration for goods entering the customs territory, carrying consignor, consignee, goods description, package count, weight, and related particulars. Everything must be covered by one, whatever its final destination, and it is lodged at the office of first entry.
Why it matters. ENS is the EU counterpart to ISF, and it is filed before arrival by the carrier or the party that brings the goods in. Late or wrong data means the container is flagged before it lands.
The U.S. customs module reviewing entry data automatically to decide whether a summary needs specialist or routine review. It scores risk by importer, tariff number, origin, manufacturer, and value, and routes summaries carrying statistical warnings, quota goods, or trade remedy duties to specialist review, with a random sample of routine ones added.
The U.S. agency charged with limiting pollution, its remit running across the atmosphere, waterways, waste disposal, pesticide use, radiation, and toxic chemicals.
Why it matters. EPA is a partner government agency at the border, with requirements reaching vehicles, engines, refrigerants, pesticides, and chemicals under the toxic substances rules. Its declaration is a condition of release.
An assignment falling short of statutory requirements that a court will still enforce to do justice between the parties, as where an oral assignment that should have been written is upheld because one side relied on it and would be harmed otherwise.
Enterprise Resource Planning: a planning method and the software that implements it, integrating forecasting, distribution, and manufacturing to allocate resources efficiently. It succeeded manufacturing resource planning and adds functions such as quality management and regulatory reporting.
A note placed beside a signature disclaiming responsibility for typographical mistakes or unintended omissions in the document.
A provision in a trade agreement letting a country suspend tariff concessions temporarily where imports threaten serious injury to competing domestic producers. In U.S. law the mechanism runs through a safeguard investigation triggered by a petition from an affected industry or its workers.
An arrangement under which a neutral third party holds money or documents and releases them according to what the contracting parties agreed.
Why it matters. Escrow gives a buyer and an unfamiliar seller a middle path between prepayment and open account. It costs less than a letter of credit but carries no bank undertaking behind it.
An account at a bank, escrow company, brokerage, or similar institution holding funds for release under the terms of an agreement between two or more parties.
The currency of Cabo Verde, divided into 100 centavos. Portugal used an escudo before adopting the euro.
When a shipment, vessel, or aircraft is expected to reach a port, airport, or terminal.
Why it matters. An ETA is a forecast, not a commitment, and the date that actually governs your free time is the discharge date. Plan the dray against the arrival notice rather than the original ETA.
When a shipment, vessel, or aircraft is expected to leave a port, airport, or terminal.
Estimated time of arrival, used across air, ocean, road, and rail movements.
The movement certificate evidencing preferential origin for goods exported to countries linked to the EU and the European Economic Area through free trade, association, or preference agreements, where the goods fall within the tariff preferences those agreements grant.
Why it matters. Without a valid EUR 1, or an invoice declaration from an approved exporter, the buyer pays full duty. Chasing the certificate after arrival rarely works.
The currency shared by most European Union member states and used in several associated territories, divided into 100 cents.
The international market in long-term bonds issued outside the jurisdiction of the currency in which they are denominated.
A European payment card scheme, originating in the German banking system, accepted across much of western Europe.
A guaranteed check scheme, backed by a card, that allowed purchases and cash withdrawals across a group of western European countries.
The international market in medium-term bank credits denominated in currencies held outside their home countries.
A deposit held in a currency outside the country that issued it.
Dollar deposits held at banks and other institutions outside the United States. The name comes from the large early concentration of such deposits in western Europe, but the market is no longer confined there.
The international capital market in which deposits and claims trade in currencies held outside the issuing country. Its centers sit in western Europe, principally London and Luxembourg, running alongside the national money markets.
The body behind the EAN barcode, which merged with the North American code councils to form GS1, now the global authority for product identification and barcode standards.
The central bank for the euro, established in 1998 and based in Frankfurt, which together with the national central banks manages the currency and frames monetary policy, with price stability as its primary objective.
The first of the European communities, pooling coal and steel production among its founding members and providing the institutional template for what became the European Union.
The EU's executive body, responsible for applying the treaties and Union rules, proposing legislation to the Council, carrying out its decisions, mediating between member states, administering common policies, and taking legal action against companies or states that breach the rules.
A non-profit body under Belgian law that aligns the electrotechnical standards of its national members and works to remove the technical barriers to trade that divergent standards create.
The association of European national standards bodies, open to countries in or eligible for the EU or EFTA, which develops voluntary standards across construction, machinery, information technology, and every sector other than the electrical and telecommunications fields covered by its sister organizations.
The collective name for the European communities after a 1967 treaty merged the executive institutions of the economic community with those of the coal and steel community and the atomic energy community. It has since been superseded by the European Union.
A body founded in 1959 to strengthen cooperation between European postal and telecommunications administrations and improve their technical services.
A basket unit made up of set amounts of each member state currency, weighted by the size of each economy and used as an internal accounting measure. The euro replaced it.
The community created by the Treaty of Rome to build a common market among its founding members, which developed through the European Community into the European Union.
A regional body set up in 1960 as an alternative to the common market, creating a free trade area in industrial goods among its members. Unlike the European Community it adopted no common external tariff and left agriculture out. Its current membership is Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Why it matters. Because EFTA has no common external tariff, origin must still be proved at each internal border. That is the practical difference between a free trade area and a customs union.
The arrangement among European Community members that created a zone of currency stability ahead of the single currency, intended to deepen integration and limit the trade disruption caused by exchange rate swings.
An option exercisable only on its expiry date, unlike an American option, which can be exercised at any point up to it.
A body created in 1990 by the European Commission with the European standards organizations and the EFTA countries, to promote mutual recognition of testing, certification procedures, and quality assessment across Europe.
An agreement centralizing European patent procedure, in force since 1977, under which a single application to the European Patent Office produces a patent that then takes effect as a bundle of national patents in the designated member states.
The office in Munich that examines and grants patents under the European Patent Convention.
A standard issued by any of the three recognized standards organizations for Europe, developed through an open, consensus-based process and forming a key building block of the single market.
Why it matters. Conformity to a harmonized EN is the usual route to demonstrating CE compliance. Ask a supplier which standard it built to, not merely whether the product is CE marked.
The body established in 1988 to develop European standards for telecommunications equipment and services, working under agreement with the European institutions and alongside the other standards organizations.
A regional association of European states combining economic, monetary, social, and political integration. It removed internal customs duties and trade barriers, adopted a common external tariff, established a shared monetary policy and currency for most members, and guarantees free movement of goods, labor, and capital, alongside common policies such as agriculture. Its work is carried out through the Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, and the Court of Auditors.
Why it matters. Once goods clear into free circulation anywhere in the Union, they move without further customs formality. Choosing the entry point is therefore a real cost decision rather than a formality.
Proof that the party filing is entitled to do so, since goods may be entered only by the owner, the purchaser, or a licensed broker acting for one of them. Where a consignment is consigned to order, a properly endorsed bill of lading serves, and an air waybill does the same for air cargo.
A sale term under which the buyer takes title as the goods leave the seller's premises, bearing all cost and risk from that point.
Variants of the origin-based sale term, each naming the specific place the goods are made available: mill, warehouse, mine, or factory.
By one side only. An ex parte application is made by a single party, and an ex parte hearing is one at which only one side of the dispute is represented.
The Incoterms 2020 rule placing the least obligation on the seller, which need only make the goods available at its own premises or another named place. It is not required to load them or to clear them for export, and the buyer carries every cost and risk from there.
Why it matters. EXW leaves the buyer responsible for export formalities in the seller's country, which a foreign buyer often cannot legally complete. FCA is usually what both sides actually intend.
Incoterms Guide →A family of origin-based sale terms in which the quoted price applies only at the named point, the seller's duty being to place the goods at the buyer's disposal there on the agreed date or within the agreed period. Every cost and risk beyond that point falls to the buyer. Ex works, ex factory, ex mill, and ex warehouse are all variants.
Why it matters. Buying on ex works terms means you own the export formalities in a country where you may have no presence. Many buyers who think they bought EXW are actually relying on the seller to handle export clearance informally.
Incoterms Guide →A fee or contribution demanded by a government body, or by anyone in a position of power, ranging from informal roadblock levies to formally legislated charges such as harbor maintenance fees.
Inspection by customs of goods, conveyances, and people entering a country.
A note added to a transport document or a delivery receipt that qualifies what condition the goods were in, so loss or damage is recorded.
Why it matters. Noting an exception at the point of receipt is what preserves a claim. A clean signature on the delivery receipt is close to fatal to one.
A rate departing from the published class rate, usually applied to cargo that is awkward to move, unusually heavy or bulky, or needing particular care, live animals and vehicles being typical examples.
Value declared to a carrier above the standard released amount, raising both the freight charge and the ceiling on carrier liability.
Government rationing of foreign currency and payment instruments, imposed to manage severe balance of payments pressure. Importers must obtain prior authorization to get the currency needed for particular goods, which restricts imports in practice.
Why it matters. Where exchange controls apply, your buyer may be unable to pay even when willing. That is a country risk to price into terms, not a commercial dispute.
A document authorizing conversion of local currency into a hard currency, needed in some markets before payment under a documentary credit can be made.
The price of one currency in terms of another, meaning how many units of one buy a single unit of the other.
A tax on specific goods, alcohol and tobacco above all, made or sold inside a country. It commonly sits on top of import duty and often falls due at importation.
Why it matters. Excise can dwarf the customs duty on alcohol and tobacco, and it is usually collected at entry or on release from bond. Landed cost models that stop at duty understate these categories badly.
The situations and conditions a policy states it will not cover. They matter most for perishables, high-value goods, cargo moving into or through war zones, arms, and anything inadequately packed, and they are the first thing an insurer examines when a claim comes in.
Why it matters. Insufficient packing is the exclusion that catches importers most often, and it is the one thing you actually control at origin. Read the exclusions before the first shipment, not after the first claim.
An appointment giving one agent the sole right to represent a principal within a defined territory or market.
The belt extending 200 nautical miles from a coastal state's shore within which it controls living and non-living marine resources and is responsible for conserving them, while other states retain freedom of navigation beyond 12 miles.
An undertaking by a shipper to move its cargo only with a particular carrier, given in return for a preferential rate.
Vehicles a carrier dedicates to one shipper's requirements rather than sharing across customers.
A contract term under which an agent, a licensee, a franchisee, or a distributor receives sole rights inside a defined territory. The word also covers the exclusive right a business holds over a trademark it has registered.
A contract term releasing one party from liability for wrongful acts, as where a seller is relieved of responsibility for specified defects in design, packaging, or manufacture.
Signing a document, and separately the legal process of enforcing a damages judgment, usually by seizing and selling the debtor's property to satisfy the award.
A for-hire carrier operating outside the economic regulations that apply to other carriers, typically because of the commodities it moves.
The price at which an option holder may buy or sell the underlying instrument, also called the strike price.
A document or object produced as evidence, and separately an attachment to a contract or proposal that supplements or evidences what the main text says.
An endorsement extending a marine cargo policy to the period goods are on display, at a trade show for instance, and to the return journey where they are not sold. It is needed because a marine policy ordinarily responds only while goods are in due course of transit, and war cover will not extend ashore in the same way.
Why it matters. Trade show stock moving on a carnet is often uninsured for the days it sits on the stand. That is precisely when it is most exposed to theft and handling damage.
The official U.S. export credit agency, which provides guarantees, insurance, and direct lending to support exports where commercial finance is unavailable or the country risk is too high.
Software that reproduces the judgment of human specialists in a defined field, holding expert knowledge in a knowledge base and applying it to new situations through an inference engine, improving as it accumulates cases.
The last day on which the beneficiary of a letter of credit may present documents and draw under it. Also called the expiry date.
Why it matters. Expiry and the presentation period run together, and shipping close to the expiry leaves no room to correct a discrepancy. Build slack into both when agreeing the credit.
The final day on which a currency option may be exercised.
One of the twelve traditional marine perils, covering damage to hull or cargo from an explosion not arising from war risks.
Goods classed under UN Class 1 and graded by hazard: those liable to detonate from a small spark, shock, or flame and to propagate to nearby packages; those that burn very rapidly, such as propellants and flares; and lower-hazard items such as consumer fireworks that may still explode under heat when tightly packed. No flames, sparks, or smoking near them, and evacuation distances apply.
The U.S. rules setting out which commodities, software, and technology are controlled for export, when a license is needed, and which license types apply.
Why it matters. The EAR reaches reexports and in-country transfers, not just shipments leaving the United States. Goods with U.S. content can carry the obligation long after they have left.
The U.S. cabinet-level body that settles export licensing disputes escalated from the interagency committees below it.
An intermediary that introduces buyers to sellers for a fee without becoming a party to the sale itself.
The former name for the export control classification number, the code identifying where an item sits on the control list.
Government restriction on what may leave the country, applied for statistical and strategic reasons. Customs enforces the rules at the border on behalf of the licensing agencies.
The U.S. system, introduced in 1985 to replace a paper process, through which exporters file licence applications electronically and licensing officers review, route, and decide them, including referral to other agencies.
The five-character code placing an item on the U.S. control list, encoding its category, product group, the reason it is controlled, and the country groups the control bites against.
Why it matters. An ECCN is a separate exercise from tariff classification and answers a different question: not what duty is owed, but whether the goods may leave at all and to whom. Ask the manufacturer for it in writing.
The Canadian schedule of goods and technologies that need a permit before they may be exported, maintained under the permits legislation.
The U.S. effort to rationalize a system split between two principal control lists administered by two departments, one covering dual-use items and the other munitions, by moving less sensitive military items onto the commerce list.
Government restrictions on what may be exported, to whom, and for what end use, covering goods, software, and technology, and applying to release of controlled technology to foreign nationals even inside the country.
Why it matters. Controls follow the item's classification and the destination, end user, and end use together, so a routine commercial product can still need a licence. The deemed export rule catches engineering emails and plant tours.
Government bodies or programs that lend, guarantee, or insure to finance exports. In the United States the general-purpose agency handles most sectors while a separate corporation covers agricultural exports.
Why it matters. An ECA guarantee can make a sale bankable that no commercial lender would touch, particularly into higher-risk markets. It is worth checking before you decline an order on credit grounds.
A program developed in 1990 with the international credit insurers' association to extend export credits at consensus rates to private borrowers in heavily indebted countries, which most agencies had previously considered too risky.
Cover protecting an exporter against the commercial and political risks of selling abroad, available from commercial underwriters and from government agencies.
The filing an exporter must make with its own authorities recording the particulars of a shipment: the parties, the goods, quantities, descriptions, value, and destination.
Canada's official export credit agency, providing credit insurance, loans, guarantees, and related financial services to support Canadian exporters.
U.S. offices in a handful of major overseas markets that support exporters with research identifying opportunities and the products likeliest to sell, and that organize promotional events. Several have exhibition and conference space available when not in use for trade shows.
Government measures that discourage exports, ranging from embargoes and sanctions through export quotas, bans on raw material exports, export duties, licensing and permit requirements, to tariffs on the imported inputs exporters depend on.
An unconditional written order drawn by an exporting seller instructing the importing buyer to pay the stated amount to the seller or its bank.
A tax some countries charge on goods leaving their territory, often applied to raw materials to keep them for domestic processing.
A government authorization permitting a stated quantity of a commodity to be exported to a named country. Some countries require one for most exports; others only in defined circumstances.
Why it matters. Whether you need one turns on three things together: what the item is, where it is going, and who will end up with it. Any of the three can trigger the requirement on its own.
The round-the-clock U.S. online service through which exporters submit licence applications to the control authority.
A firm acting as the outsourced export department for several manufacturers, soliciting and handling their export business for a commission, a fee, or a retainer plus commission.
A company that buys goods outright from manufacturers and then packs, marks, and resells them under its own name.
Why it matters. Buying from a merchant rather than the factory obscures who actually made the goods, which matters for origin, valuation, and forced labor screening. Ask for the manufacturer's identity before you file.
Another name for an export licence, the authorization required before controlled goods may leave the country.
An industrial area a government designates to attract exporting firms through tax and other incentives, usually allowing duty-free import of inputs on condition the output is exported.
Why it matters. Goods finished in an EPZ still take the origin of where they were substantially transformed, not the zone's status. Zone benefits are a tax matter; origin remains a customs one.
The policies, incentives, and support from governments, banks, and other bodies intended to bring more firms into exporting, covering market research, training, transparent trade rules, low barriers to entry, and access to finance and guarantees.
Limits an exporting country places on the value or volume of particular exports, used to shield domestic buyers from shortages or to support world prices. Some commodity agreements specify when producers should apply them, and they also feature in orderly marketing and voluntary restraint arrangements.
Arrangements under which an exporting country agrees to limit shipments to a particular market, usually at the importing country's request.
Quantitative limits an exporting country places on shipments to named foreign markets, generally under a formal or informal understanding reached at the importing country's request.
A U.S. small business program guaranteeing loans that bridge the working capital gap between paying for inventory and production and receiving payment from the foreign buyer, with the guarantee covering most of the facility up to a cap. It is granted on the likelihood that the company can complete the export order.
A Canadian government online service bringing together guidance and assistance for exporters.
Payments, inducements, or other measurable financial benefits a government gives producers or exporters conditional on goods or services being exported.
Why it matters. Subsidies are what countervailing duty is designed to cancel out. Buying from a subsidized producer can leave you paying that duty on import.
A business organized principally to export goods and services or to supply export services to others. Foreign ownership is permitted, and such a firm may also handle imports, countertrade, and cross-trades that never touch its home market.
U.S. legislation of 1982 that created an antitrust preclearance certificate for export activity, opened the way for banking institutions to take stakes in export trading companies, and set up a service connecting producers of exportable goods with firms offering export services.
The U.S. public corporation, created in 1934 and placed on a statutory footing in 1945, that guarantees and insures lending to finance U.S. exports, with a particular focus on capital equipment. It also writes short-term cover against commercial and political risk, directly or alongside commercial banks.
The party sending goods out of a country in the course of trade. In EU terms it is whoever the export declaration is made for and who owns the goods or holds a comparable right to dispose of them, meaning whoever contracted to export, holds the licence, or is entitled to export refunds.
The identifier required on a U.S. export declaration. Corporations use their federal employer identification number; unincorporated exporters use a personal tax identifier.
A statutory measure of the price at which goods are sold, or expected to sell, inside the United States for the exporter's account, whether the sale happens before or after importation. Prescribed adjustments strip out items such as import duty, U.S. selling and administrative expense, and freight so the figure can be compared meaningfully against foreign market value.
A hedging approach in which exposure in one currency is offset by positions in the same or another currency, so that a movement producing a loss on one side produces a matching gain on the other.
An agency created by an explicit appointment, written or spoken, as opposed to one the law infers from conduct.
A non-negotiable bill used where cargo is to be released on arrival without originals being surrendered. It suits shipments with no bank involvement in payment.
Why it matters. An express bill removes the risk of originals going astray, but it also removes your control over release. Use it only where you have already been paid or are content to rely on the buyer's credit.
Policy terms stated openly in the contract wording, as opposed to conditions the law implies into it.
A policy term stating explicitly what is required for cover to apply, breach of which can discharge the insurer.
A sovereign government taking private property compulsorily, usually against compensation, as when land is taken to build a road or public building.
A cost or benefit of an activity that falls on parties outside the transaction and is not reflected in the price of the goods or services involved.
One country handing an accused person to the authorities of another country entitled to try the charge, normally under a treaty between them.
Exemption from local law available to foreign states, to international bodies, to diplomatic staff, and to certain individuals. It is never simply assumed and must rest on a legal basis.
Why it matters. U.S. export controls and sanctions apply extraterritorially to goods with U.S. content and to transactions touching the dollar. A non-U.S. company can be caught by them without ever shipping from the United States.
145 terms in this group.
Programs that speed international commerce by modernizing and simplifying customs procedure, duty collection, and the other formalities cargo and passengers face. Removing redundant declarations, releasing cargo faster, and clearing at origin are all examples.
A payment to an official to speed up processing or an approval that would have been granted anyway. Some anti-corruption regimes distinguish it from bribery and others do not, so its legality depends on the payer's home law, the country where it was made, and the circumstances.
Why it matters. The distinction is narrower than people assume, and several major jurisdictions do not recognize it at all. Treat any such request as a legal question rather than an operational one.
Transmission of a document image over a telephone line, and the printed copy it produces. Banks generally will not accept a faxed document under a letter of credit unless the credit permits it.
An agent who takes goods on consignment and sells them for the principal or in its own name against commission, and separately a finance company that buys another business's receivables at a discount and then collects them.
A factor's right to hold the principal's goods until it has been paid in full.
Firms that buy domestic or foreign receivables, meaning invoices not yet paid, at a discount to face value.
Why it matters. Factoring converts a receivable into cash now and can transfer the buyer's credit risk with it, depending on whether the purchase is with or without recourse. That distinction is the whole deal.
A body bringing together companies, civil society groups, and academic institutions to defend labor rights and lift conditions by holding affiliated companies to international standards, backed by independent monitoring of the factories making their products and by public reporting.
Why it matters. Independent factory monitoring is increasingly what buyers are asked to evidence, and forced labor enforcement has made it a customs matter. Audit records are part of your import file, not just your CSR file.
The idea that producers in supplying countries should capture a larger share of the final market value of what they grow or make, should work in better conditions, and should benefit from stronger environmental practice.
A closely held company owned and generally run by members of one family.
Free Alongside Ship. A sea and inland waterway Incoterms rule under which the seller delivers by placing the goods alongside the vessel at the named port, cleared for export, with risk and cost passing to the buyer from that point.
Incoterms Guide →Free and Secure Trade, the first fully paperless cargo release mechanism used by U.S. customs, working through electronic data and transponders. It speeds release for highly compliant cargo from approved importers and eases congestion at the Canadian and Mexican land borders.
U.S. procedures giving trade agreements two guarantees essential to negotiating them: a floor vote on the implementing bill inside a set period, and a straight yes or no with no amendments permitted.
The U.S. agency overseeing civil aviation, including aircraft certification, airspace, and the safety rules that govern how cargo, hazardous materials included, may be carried by air.
The independent U.S. agency regulating international ocean transportation, established in 1961. It licenses ocean transportation intermediaries, oversees carrier and terminal practices, and handles complaints about unreasonable charges.
Why it matters. The FMC is where a shipper takes a demurrage or detention dispute that a carrier will not resolve. Its guidance on when such charges are reasonable has real teeth.
The United States central bank, created in 1913, responsible for monetary policy and for the stability of the financial and payments system.
The independent U.S. agency protecting consumers and preserving competition, whose remit includes truthful labelling and advertising claims such as country of origin marking.
Why it matters. Made in USA claims are policed by the FTC, separately from customs marking rules. Goods with imported content can satisfy customs and still breach the advertising standard.
A U.S. bank chartered by the national banking regulator, belonging to the Federal Reserve System and meeting the requirements for a national bank. Only chartered banks and other authorized institutions may take deposits.
A smaller ship connecting a port that the main line service does not call at with the hub where the mainline vessel loads.
Why it matters. A feeder leg adds days and an extra handling, and it is where transshipment delays and damage tend to occur. Where a direct service exists, it is often worth a premium.
Forty-foot equivalent unit, a capacity measure equal to two TEU.
A relationship of trust in which one party must act in good faith for another's benefit, as an officer must act in the company's interests rather than exploit the position for personal gain.
A warehouse run by an independent operator but sited on the goods owner's own premises. It is used in financing arrangements where inventory pledged as collateral must be segregated from other stock and placed under a third party's custody and control.
Why it matters. This is how inventory becomes borrowable without moving it. The lender's security depends on the independence of the operator, which is why the arrangement is formal.
A court order directing an officer to satisfy a judgment by seizing and selling the debtor's property.
The proportion of ordered items picked and made ready to ship within a stated time.
The concluding decision in a dumping investigation, made after the sales analysis and after interested parties have commented, normally within about 75 days of the preliminary determination. Exporters accounting for a significant share of the goods may ask in writing for it to be postponed.
A valuation approach that lets an importer declare the price in an earlier sale in a multi-tier transaction, typically factory to middleman, rather than the higher price it paid the middleman, provided that earlier sale was a bona fide sale clearly destined for export to the United States.
Why it matters. On a long supply chain with a trading company in the middle, first sale can cut dutiable value substantially. It only survives an audit with documentation of the factory sale, so set it up with counsel before claiming it, not after.
Registration of a vessel in a country other than its owners', typically to reduce tax, crewing cost, and regulatory burden.
The country a vessel is registered in, whose maritime rules govern it, covering safety standards, crewing levels, and consular representation.
Capable of catching fire, the general category covering both flammable liquids and flammable solids in the dangerous goods classification.
A liquid with a flash point below about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, classed under UN Class 3, with ether, acetone, gasoline, toluene, and pentane as examples. The vapor is an explosion risk, some are toxic as well, and no flames, sparks, or smoking are permitted near them.
A solid that ignites readily and burns fiercely, or that may start a fire under certain conditions, classed under UN Class 4. Some ignite on contact with air or moisture and can reignite after being put out, fires can give off irritant or toxic gas, and contact can burn skin and eyes.
A container with end walls but no sides, used for heavy cargo that is too wide or too tall for a closed box. It has heavy bottom bracing, fixed ends, and many lashing points, and suits machinery. It stacks if the cargo stays within the container's overall dimensions, and must be stowed on top if the load is over height.
An open platform road trailer with no sides or roof, loaded from the side or above and used for machinery, steel, lumber, and other cargo that will not fit a van trailer.
An open platform rail wagon for oversized cargo and anything that has to be loaded from the side or top. It carries containers, intermodal trailers, machinery, farm and construction equipment, lumber, plywood, steel and steel products, spooled wire, pipe, and rebar.
Non-automated equipment for moving goods about a warehouse, such as pallet jacks, forklifts, and hand trucks.
A heavy-duty flexible bladder fitted inside a standard 20 foot container to carry bulk liquid. It moves food-grade products such as wine, juice concentrate, and edible oils, as well as industrial liquids such as lubricants.
Why it matters. A flexitank turns a dry box into a tank for a fraction of the cost of an ISO tank, but it is single use and the container must be surveyed and fitted correctly. Failures in transit are messy and expensive.
Moving capital, usually converted into liquid form, out of one place and into another to avoid loss or seek higher return.
Letting a currency's rate be set by the market. A clean float leaves supply and demand to determine it with no central bank intervention; a dirty float accepts floating in principle but intervenes from time to time to steer the level.
A currency whose external value is not held to a par or fixed relationship with another but is allowed, wholly or partly, to be set by the market.
The weight a container's floor can bear, expressed per unit of area. Loads must be spread evenly and must not exceed the container's rated figure.
Why it matters. Concentrated point loads from machinery can exceed the floor rating even when total weight is within limits. Spreader boards are cheaper than a collapsed floor.
Gravity-fed racking loaded at one end and picked from the other, keeping stock rotating and putting the picking face at the point of use.
Free On Board. A sea and inland waterway Incoterms rule under which the seller delivers once the goods are on board the vessel at the named port, with risk and cost passing to the buyer at that point.
Why it matters. FOB is written into countless contracts for cargo that never touches a ship. For containers handed over at a terminal rather than loaded by the seller, FCA is the rule that actually fits.
Incoterms Guide →A misuse of Free On Board, which under the Incoterms rules applies only to sea and inland waterway carriage. For air shipments the appropriate rule is Free Carrier.
A domestic North American usage of FOB that does not correspond to the Incoterms rule, indicating delivery at destination with the freight billed to the receiver.
Why it matters. Domestic FOB terms describe who pays and where title passes; Incoterms FOB describes risk transfer on an international sale. Mixing the two in one contract is a common and expensive confusion.
A domestic North American usage of FOB, not an Incoterms rule, indicating delivery at destination with the freight paid by the shipper.
A domestic North American usage of FOB, not an Incoterms rule, indicating title passes at origin with the freight billed to the receiver.
A domestic North American usage of FOB, not an Incoterms rule, indicating title passes at origin while the shipper pays the freight and then bills it back to the buyer.
A contingency addendum to an open cargo policy giving a seller automatic cover on shipments until the buyer's own insurance takes effect. It matters where the seller ships on terms that make the buyer responsible for insuring, and the buyer's policy lacks warehouse to warehouse or marine extension wording, leaving a gap.
The United Nations agency founded in 1945 to tackle hunger and malnutrition, coordinating between governments, scientific bodies, and non-governmental organizations on food and agriculture programs.
The U.S. agency enforcing the food, drug, and cosmetic laws along with packaging and labelling requirements, and responsible for the safety and effectiveness of a wide range of imported products.
Why it matters. FDA regulates food, drugs, devices, cosmetics, and radiation-emitting electronics, and requires prior notice before food shipments arrive. Its refusal stops an entry that customs would otherwise release.
Free on rail, an older term indicating the price covers the goods loaded onto the railcar. It is not an Incoterms rule, since Free On Board applies only to sea and inland waterway carriage.
An event or set of circumstances beyond a party's control, such as earthquake, flood, or war, that prevents it performing its obligations.
Why it matters. Force majeure excuses performance; it does not pay for your cargo or your lost season. Check what the clause actually covers and whether it merely suspends the obligation or ends it.
A contract term excusing a party whose performance is prevented by an event outside its reasonable control, which may extend to natural disasters, strikes, insolvency, or a subcontractor's failure. Where no such clause is included, the parties must fall back on whatever the governing law implies.
A business abroad that a domestic investor owns or controls, the outbound counterpart of an inbound affiliate.
For U.S. reporting, any member of an affiliated foreign group that owns a U.S. affiliate but is not itself that affiliate's foreign parent.
The U.S. Agriculture Department arm with agricultural officers posted worldwide and analytical staff at home, tracking and reporting on global agriculture and trade, developing export markets, representing producers' trade policy interests internationally, and running the department's export credit and concessional sales programs.
The U.S. Treasury office administering economic sanctions against particular countries, entities, and individuals, and restricting the involvement of U.S. persons in certain third-country strategic exports.
Why it matters. Sanctions screening is strict liability: intent is not a defense, and the obligation covers banks, forwarders, and vessels as well as the buyer. Screen every party to the movement, and rescreen, because lists change constantly.
U.S. legislation replacing the earlier support programme for eastern Europe, extending assistance to 26 countries covering the eastern European states and most of the former Soviet republics.
An assessment of whether a controlled item can already be obtained from non-U.S. sources, judged on comparable quality, whether it is actually available, whether a foreign source exists, and whether the quantities available would make continued U.S. control pointless.
Why it matters. Where foreign availability is established, a control can be relaxed because it no longer denies anything. It is the argument exporters use when a licence requirement is costing sales without achieving its purpose.
An international bond issued in a country and denominated in that country's own currency.
A vessel built or registered abroad. Bottom refers to the part of the hull below the waterline and stands, by extension, for the ship itself.
A U.S. trade promotion program bringing screened overseas buyers to major domestic trade shows and introducing them to exhibitors, now run as the International Buyer Program.
An independent quasi-judicial body within the U.S. Justice Department deciding claims by U.S. nationals against foreign governments. It acts under jurisdiction granted by Congress, under settlement agreements between states, or where the State Department asks it to. Awards are funded from appropriations, from settlements, or from liquidated foreign assets.
U.S. law making it an offense for a U.S. person or company, or anyone acting for one, to offer, pay, promise, or authorize money or anything of value to a foreign official, political party, or candidate in order to influence a discretionary act or decision corruptly. It also imposes accounting and record-keeping obligations.
Why it matters. Liability reaches conduct by agents, forwarders, and brokers acting on your behalf, not just employees. Anti-corruption terms and diligence on intermediaries are the practical defense.
A U.S. body formed in 1961 to write cover against political and commercial risk on export receivables, working alongside the national export credit agency.
A contract conferring the right, without the obligation, to buy or sell a stated amount of a currency at an agreed price within an agreed period.
What a country owes to overseas investors, banks, and governments.
Investment by a person or company in one country into a business in another, whether by acquiring shares in an existing company, buying property, or building new facilities there.
Ownership or control by a single foreign person, whether an individual, related group, company, or government, of at least a tenth of the voting stock in an incorporated U.S. business or a comparable stake in an unincorporated one, real property included. The business is then reported as the U.S. arm of an overseas parent.
A draft drawn by a person or bank in one country on a person or bank in another.
Liquid claims payable in another country's currency, such as bank balances, checks, and bills of exchange. Physical foreign notes and coin fall outside the term.
Auctions of foreign currency used in some developing economies, where the price the currency fetches becomes the applicable rate until the next auction is held.
An agreement to buy or sell currency at a stated rate for delivery on a stated date.
Government supervision of transactions in the national currency, of the currency made available for imports and exports, of capital moving in and out, and of what citizens may spend abroad.
The currency trading operation run at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, dealing in the exchange markets for the U.S. monetary authorities, for the Treasury, and on behalf of central banks abroad.
Liquid claims a party holds that are payable in another country's currency.
The global network through which currencies are bought and sold, running between bank traders, non-bank dealers, and the traders themselves, and by extension wherever exchange rates get set.
A person or firm representing a domestic supplier abroad and seeking sales for it in that market.
The U.S. diplomatic service supporting foreign policy objectives abroad: representing national interests, running overseas missions, assisting citizens, reporting and public diplomacy, and conducting political, economic, consular, administrative, cultural, and commercial business.
The U.S. training establishment founded in 1946 for foreign and civil service staff, covering administrative, consular, economic, commercial, and political work alongside languages and preparation for life overseas.
Imported goods not yet released from customs custody, and also domestically made goods that were exported and have since been brought back in.
The admission of goods into a foreign trade zone, which places them inside the country geographically but outside its customs territory for duty purposes.
Why it matters. Admission is not an import entry, so duty is not assessed at that point. It falls due only when the goods leave the zone for domestic commerce, which is where the cash-flow benefit comes from.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →The U.S. body that establishes, oversees, and administers foreign trade zones under the zone legislation, chaired by the Commerce Secretary alongside the Treasury and Army secretaries.
Japan's term for a foreign trade zone, established under a government initiative to encourage imports by concentrating import-related facilities and businesses, particularly around international airports and seaports.
An instrument giving its holder the right, but no obligation, to exchange one currency for another at a preset rate within a defined period, bought for a fee paid to the seller. Traders on both sides of a sale use them to hedge currency exposure.
Why it matters. An option caps your worst case while leaving the upside open, which a forward contract does not. The premium is the price of that flexibility, and for a long lead time it can be worth paying.
The examination of physical and other evidence and its application to legal questions, particularly in establishing whether a crime occurred, its nature, and who committed it.
The currency of Hungary. Hungary is committed in principle to adopting the euro but has set no date.
A manoeuvrable industrial vehicle that lifts and moves palletized loads, using two forks projecting from the front that slide into the pallet's openings and can be raised, lowered, and tilted to place the load in racking, containers, or vehicles.
The certificate of origin used to claim preferential duty treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences, issued by an authority in the beneficiary country.
Happening by chance rather than by design or inevitability. Insurance responds to fortuitous events, which is why certainty of loss defeats a claim.
An agreement to buy or sell a set amount of currency at a fixed rate on a future date, used to lock in the exchange rate on a payment that is already committed.
Why it matters. Exposure starts when you confirm a price, not when you pay, so a quote held open for sixty days is already a currency position. Hedging at order confirmation is what keeps the margin you quoted.
An agreement to buy currency at a future date at a rate fixed now. Importers use it to remove the uncertainty between agreeing a contract and paying for it.
Why it matters. A forward locks your cost, which is the point, but it also removes any benefit if the rate moves your way. Where you want the floor without giving up the upside, an option does that at the cost of a premium.
The market in forward currency contracts, usually quoted for delivery one, three, six, or twelve months ahead.
Currency transactions where delivery falls due more than two working days after the deal is struck, as distinct from spot dealing.
The exchange rate agreed in a forward currency contract for settlement on a future date.
Contracts letting two parties fix an interest rate now for a future period on a set notional amount in a chosen currency, protecting each against rate movement. Unlike futures they are not standardized or exchange traded, being arranged between banks.
A bill of lading issued by a freight forwarder rather than by the carrier, also called a house bill.
Why it matters. A forwarder's bill is a contract with the forwarder, not with the ocean carrier, and banks scrutinize it more closely under letters of credit. Confirm the credit accepts it before shipping.
A transport document put out by a forwarding agent rather than the carrier, equivalent to a forwarder's or house bill.
A receipt a forwarding agent issues acknowledging that it has taken the goods, evidencing custody rather than carriage.
A bill of lading noting that the goods were damaged or short when the carrier took them, the opposite of a clean bill.
The set of agreements from the Tokyo Round addressing improvements to how world trade is conducted, notably differential and more favorable treatment for developing countries and their fuller participation in the trading system.
Free of duties, carriage, and other charges. Used as a delivery condition naming a place, it means the seller carries all transport costs and duties as far as that place.
Deliberate deception or false statement made to induce another to act on it, causing that party loss. A buyer who promises payment on delivery without the funds, takes the goods as satisfactory, and then does not pay has acted fraudulently.
Why it matters. Fraud is the single exception to the autonomy principle in letters of credit, and the only ground on which a court will normally restrain payment against conforming documents. It is a high bar.
A U.S. initiative harmonizing commercial clearance at the Canadian and Mexican land borders. It offers expedited release to carriers and importers enrolled in the supply chain security program and consolidates the registration processes behind that.
A consignment carried to or unloaded at the wrong point, then forwarded to the correct destination at no further charge because the error was the carrier's.
A term under which the shipper carries every cost of delivering to the consignee's door, customs clearance charges included.
Why it matters. Free domicile sounds like DDP but is not an Incoterms rule, and it rarely says who acts as importer of record or bears the duty. Spell both out rather than assuming.
A rate set by the market rather than by official fixing, the outcome of a floating regime.
An ocean pricing term placing both loading and discharge costs on the charterer rather than the shipowner.
A carriage term under which the shipper pays for loading while the carrier covers the sea passage and discharge.
The customs authority's schedule of goods that carry no duty.
Trade in and out of a market unimpeded by tariffs or other barriers.
A policy provision excluding warlike operations and their consequences, whether or not war has been formally declared. Most open cargo policies leave war perils out and carry this clause, with war cover written separately as its own policy alongside.
Why it matters. War cover is a separate purchase, and it is what responds when a conflict closes a strait or a vessel is detained. Assuming an all risks policy covers it is a common and costly mistake.
A policy clause under which total losses are recoverable, and partial losses from perils of the sea only where the carrying vessel has stranded, sunk, caught fire, or been in collision.
A marine wording limiting recovery of partial losses to damage caused directly by the vessel stranding, sinking, burning, or colliding.
Why it matters. The American form requires the casualty to have caused the damage; the English form only requires that the casualty happened on the voyage. That difference decides a lot of claims.
A marine wording limiting recovery of partial losses from insured perils to voyages on which the vessel stranded, sank, burned, or collided. The casualty need not have caused the damage; it need only have occurred during the voyage.
The Incoterms 2020 rule under which the seller delivers when the goods are on board the vessel at the named port of shipment, clears them for export, and hands risk and cost to the buyer from that point.
Why it matters. FOB is written into countless contracts for containerized cargo that the seller never loads itself. Where the handover is at a terminal, FCA reflects what actually happens and protects the seller better.
Incoterms Guide →An ocean pricing term placing discharge costs on the shipper or receiver rather than the carrier.
A port or area into which goods may be brought without duty being paid, remaining outside the customs territory until they enter domestic commerce.
The period allowed for loading, unloading, or holding equipment before demurrage, detention, or storage charges begin to run.
Why it matters. Free time is negotiable and varies by carrier, port, and contract. Knowing exactly when each clock starts, and whether weekends and holidays count, is what separates an on-budget import from a surprise invoice.
Cubeship Services →The theoretical position of trade unencumbered by tariffs or non-tariff barriers. In practice liberalization aims at freer trade rather than free trade, since some restrictions are expected to persist.
An arrangement removing barriers to the exchange of goods and services between the parties. Unlike a common market it does not address labor mobility or align policies such as taxation, and each member keeps its own tariff schedule toward countries outside the agreement.
Why it matters. Because members keep separate external tariffs, origin must be proved on every shipment to claim the preference. The paperwork is the price of the duty saving.
Two or more countries that have removed tariffs and most non-tariff barriers between themselves while each keeps its own tariff schedule for imports from outside. That separate external schedule is what distinguishes it from a customs union, which applies a common external tariff.
The set of commercial aviation rights codified internationally, granting an airline of one country defined privileges to fly over, land in, and carry traffic to and from another.
Why it matters. Air cargo capacity on a lane depends on which freedoms the carriers hold there. It is why some routings require a transshipment that looks unnecessary on a map.
Tenure in land held absolutely, in a limited line of inheritance, or for the duration of a life. Absolute tenure carries no restriction on sale or inheritance; the limited form passes only to specified heirs; the life form lasts only for a named person's lifetime.
A letter of credit that lets the beneficiary present documents at a bank of its own choosing rather than only at a nominated bank.
Goods carried by rail, air, road, or water, excluding baggage, express, and ordinary mail. The word also means the charge for carrying them.
An enclosed road trailer carrying boxed, crated, or palletized freight of almost any kind, also called a dry van. Shorter units serve local work or run in multiples; two axles on eight wheels is standard, with heavier configurations available, and doors are hinged at the rear or roll up.
A rating that charges a consolidated shipment of mixed commodity classes at one blended rate rather than pricing each class separately. It works for freight billing only; a customs declaration still has to describe and classify each commodity in the box.
Why it matters. FAK simplifies the freight bill but never the entry. Customs still needs a line-level description and classification for every commodity in the box.
The carrier's invoice for a movement, describing the goods, naming the shipper, giving the origin and weight, and stating the charges where they have not been prepaid.
A person or company that sells transport services without operating any equipment, typically matching smaller shippers with carriers.
What a carrier charges to move a consignment, before accessorials and surcharges are added.
A demand on a carrier for repayment of an overcharge or for loss or damage suffered by the shipper or consignee.
A company that assembles, collects, consolidates, ships, and distributes cargo below full container or truckload, and that acts as agent in moving freight to and from other countries, preparing documents, arranging carriage and warehousing, and handling export clearance.
Why it matters. A forwarder does not own the ships or aircraft; it buys capacity and manages the process. The value shows up in routing decisions, document accuracy, and how quickly exceptions get resolved, which is where most import delay actually starts.
Cubeship Services →Any vessel built to carry cargo rather than passengers, and in air transport an aircraft configured for freight alone.
A company set up to disguise who is really in control or what is really being done. It may run a genuine business while serving to launder money, to buy and export military hardware unlawfully, or to divert controlled materials, components, and technology.
Why it matters. Front companies are how sanctions and export controls get evaded, and an importer that ships to one is exposed regardless of intent. Unusual routing, mismatched end use, and reluctance to identify the end user are the standard warning signs.
An unforeseen event that destroys the reason one party entered the contract, whether fire, civil unrest, natural disaster, or another cause. Depending on the circumstances and the governing law it can be a defense to enforcement.
A foreign trade zone: a secured site inside the United States that customs treats as outside the customs territory for duty purposes. Goods can be admitted, stored, handled, manufactured, and re-exported without duty ever being paid, and duty on anything entered into U.S. commerce is deferred until it leaves the zone.
Why it matters. The three ways a zone pays for itself are duty deferral on inventory you have not sold yet, duty elimination on what you re-export, and inverted tariff relief where the finished good carries a lower rate than its components. Whether it is worth the compliance overhead comes down to your duty spend and how long inventory sits.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →The whole process of turning an order into a delivery: receiving it, holding the stock, raising the invoice, picking, packing, and shipping. It is done in house, outsourced to a provider, or handled by drop shipment.
Cubeship Warehousing →A quoted rate covering loading, lashing and trimming the cargo aboard, the sea passage, and discharge at destination.
Every original of a document, most often a bill of lading, with the number issued stated on the document itself.
Why it matters. A credit calling for a full set means all originals, and presenting two of three is a discrepancy. It also means all of them must be surrendered before the carrier releases the cargo.
A consignment filling a truck, whether by volume or by reaching its weight limit.
Studying underlying supply and demand data to judge where a traded commodity's price is heading. Applied to currencies it works from a country's economic and business cycle data and produces longer-term rate forecasts.
Goods interchangeable with others of the same kind and quality, so that one consignment can substitute for another. A merchant unable to deliver a particular parcel of grain may supply an equivalent one instead.
Why it matters. Fungibility is what separates bulk from break bulk in customs terms, and it is also what makes FTZ inventory attribution workable. Goods carrying serial numbers are not fungible.
A high-cube road trailer built for bulky, light, fragile goods such as furniture and electronics, with a lowered deck and air-ride suspension.
A standardized exchange-traded contract to buy or sell a currency at a set rate on a set date, differing from a forward in being standardized and cleared rather than privately arranged.
Shorthand for a foreign exchange option, the right without the obligation to exchange currencies at a preset rate within a defined period.
74 terms in this group.
An arrangement in which client and supplier both share financially in the value their work together creates, as where an outside firm audits freight records for overcharges, recovers refunds, and splits the proceeds.
Why it matters. Freight bill audit on a gainshare basis costs nothing up front and routinely recovers a few percent of spend. Duty overpayment recovery works the same way.
Tariff Refund Calculator →How fast an option's delta shifts as the price of the underlying instrument moves.
A team of stevedores, usually four to six with a supervisor, assigned to work part of a vessel.
The opening through which a vessel is boarded, and either side of a ship's upper deck.
A crane carried on a frame that spans an open area aboard ship or on a quay. The hoist runs across the span while the frame itself usually travels on rails along the berth, letting it work the length of a vessel.
A major airport or seaport through which international traffic enters or leaves a region, and the point at which a through movement is interlined between carriers.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the multilateral framework that governed world trade from 1948 until the World Trade Organization succeeded it in 1995. Its provisions continue to operate within the WTO system.
A bond issued in the Japanese market in a currency other than yen. Yen-denominated issues by foreign borrowers are called samurai bonds.
An agency giving the agent authority to act for the principal across a whole class of transactions, rather than for one specific matter.
The postwar multilateral agreement that cut tariffs through successive negotiating rounds and set the ground rules for trade between its contracting parties. The World Trade Organization has superseded it as the institution, though its disciplines remain part of the system.
A loss deliberately incurred for the common safety of the voyage, shared proportionally by everyone with an interest in it: the shipowner, every cargo owner by the value of their goods, and whoever stands to earn the freight.
Why it matters. A general average declaration obliges every cargo interest to contribute before goods are released, often against a bond or guarantee. Marine cargo cover normally responds to that contribution, but subject to the policy terms and exclusions rather than automatically.
An independent specialist who handles general average losses, taking in the security, releasing cargo back to its owners once that is posted, and settling each party's contribution.
An undertaking a cargo owner gives to pay its share of a general average loss. Adjusters hold cargo caught in general average until security of some kind is in place, whether a bond, cash, an average agreement, or a guarantee.
Cash a cargo owner puts up to secure its share of a general average loss, usually taken as additional security alongside a bond.
A written undertaking from an insurer to pay its insured's share of a general average loss. Adjusters normally take one instead of a cash deposit, alongside the bond the cargo owner signs.
The rate a carrier applies to cargo for which no special class or commodity rate has been published.
Ships built to handle break bulk: bags, cartons, cases, crates, and drums, whether loose or made up into unitized and palletized loads.
A rate covering all commodities except those with rates filed specifically for them, built on weight and distance and published for each pair of points a carrier serves.
A Canadian blanket authorization allowing controlled goods on the export list to go to named destinations without an individual permit for each shipment.
A Canadian blanket authorization to bring in goods on the import control list without applying for an individual permit each time.
The full physical arrivals of foreign goods into a country, whether they go straight into domestic commerce or are placed in bonded warehouses or foreign trade zones under customs control.
The six rules governing how goods are classified under the Harmonized System, applied in order to decide which heading a product falls in.
Why it matters. Most classification disputes turn on the interpretive rules rather than on the product description. Rule 3, covering goods that could sit under two headings and sets put up for retail sale, causes the most argument.
Cubeship Customs Support →Unlimited responsibility for an obligation, such as a business's debts, as opposed to liability capped at a stated amount or at the value of an investment.
The status of imported goods not entered within the period allowed after the carrier's arrival, which are then moved to a bonded warehouse at the importer's risk and expense.
Why it matters. General order is the endpoint of a stalled clearance, and it is expensive: cartage, storage, and handling all bill back to the importer, and goods left there long enough can be sold or destroyed. Any shipment nearing the deadline without a filed entry needs escalation, not monitoring.
The bonded facility customs sends unclaimed goods to, at the owner's cost and risk, once the entry deadline has passed.
A partnership in which every partner carries joint and several liability for what the partnership owes.
A Canadian preferential rate for goods from developing countries, conditional on a set proportion of the production materials originating there. It sits alongside the most favored nation and British preferential rates, with country of origin deciding which applies.
A Canadian agreement under which a seller extends credit and takes security over all the buyer's assets against default, effective once registered under the applicable provincial personal property security legislation.
The rate applied to countries entitled to neither preferential nor most favored nation treatment, normally higher than the most favored nation rate.
A program granting duty-free entry to goods from designated developing countries and territories to support their economic growth, agreed internationally as part of a wider effort to draw those countries further into the trading system.
Why it matters. GSP has lapsed and been renewed repeatedly, and entries filed during a lapse can be refunded retroactively when it is restored. Flagging eligible entries while the program is dormant is how importers recover that duty.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The established body of accounting concepts, standards, and procedures used in preparing financial statements.
The German, Austrian, and Swiss designation for a private limited company in which shareholder liability is limited.
A payment system in which funds move directly between accounts on the payer's instruction, widely used in Europe as an alternative to cheques.
A bond structured so that it can trade immediately in the U.S. capital markets and in the Euromarket at the same time.
Goods whose benefits cannot practically be withheld from anyone. They may be non-excludable by nature, because exclusion would be impossible or prohibitively costly; public by deliberate policy, as with a justice system or basic education; or public simply because policy has never addressed them.
A heavily built open-top rail wagon with fixed sides and ends. Mill versions serve the steel trade, carrying scrap, ingots, coil, sheet, pipe, and similar products; aggregate versions carry industrial minerals, crushed rock, and gravel. Cross bars, restraints, and timber troughs are available for particular cargoes.
Merchandise, supplies, raw materials, and finished products, meaning movable things capable of being bought and sold.
The Canadian federal tax applying to most goods and services supplied domestically and to goods on import.
Why it matters. GST is charged on the duty-paid value at import, so it compounds on top of duty rather than sitting beside it. Registered importers generally recover it, which makes registration worth sorting out early.
Cover for inland movement by road and rail, often extended to inland and coastal waterways. International carriage by sea or air is handled under marine cover instead.
A trailer whose front section drops down over the tractor coupling, giving extra height for the load behind it. On container chassis the gooseneck tunnel accommodates the recessed underside of a 40 foot high cube box.
The transport document U.S. government agencies use to buy freight, express, and related services from commercial carriers, with a separate form for privately owned personal property.
The U.S. agency that publishes and distributes federal documents, including the regulations and the daily register in which rule changes appear.
How official agencies buy goods and services. Where they favor domestic suppliers despite higher prices or lower quality than imports could offer, the practice operates as a non-tariff barrier.
The Bangladeshi bank founded in 1976 by Muhammad Yunus to test whether credit and banking services could be extended to the rural poor, particularly women, without conventional collateral. Its microcredit model has been replicated widely.
A contract term or statutory provision exempting something that already existed when a new rule came in, as where those already practicing a regulated occupation are excused from a newly imposed requirement.
Why it matters. Trade remedy orders and tariff actions sometimes exempt goods already on the water when the measure took effect. Whether your shipment qualifies turns on the export date, not the arrival date.
State laws passed in the American west and midwest in the late nineteenth century bringing railroads, storage warehouses, and grain elevators under regulation and stamping out discriminatory rates. They took their name from the farmers' organization that pressed for them.
The public or private corporation granted the right to set up, run, or maintain a foreign trade zone.
Economic activity paid in cash outside the books, escaping employment taxes and contributions to mandated social programs.
Genuine branded goods sold through channels the manufacturer never authorized or intended. A typical case arises where a producer appoints an exclusive distributor in a market and that distributor records the trademark with customs, so parallel imports of the same authentic product can be stopped at the border.
Why it matters. Gray market goods are genuine, which is what makes them different from counterfeits, but recorded trademarks can still get them detained. Check whether the mark is recorded before committing to a parallel sourcing route.
The U.S. document evidencing lawful permanent residence, entitling a foreign national to live and work in the country indefinitely.
A clearance channel for consignments assessed as low risk, released without documentary or physical examination, as against red and yellow channels that draw checks.
A movement among ports, environmental bodies, and others to cut emissions in and around harbours by having vessels burn cleaner fuel there and draw shore power at berth instead of running their own generators.
Reviewing and reshaping a whole supply chain, from design and planning through sourcing and materials use to shipping and distribution, to cut environmental impact while also taking out cost.
A U.S. intelligence listing of questionable end users in countries of missile proliferation concern, used by licensing officers as a cross-check when reviewing applications for items covered by the missile technology control arrangements.
The fixed band within which exchange rates are permitted to move under a managed arrangement.
Twelve dozen, or 144 items, and in finance the total before any deduction is made.
The maximum weight the manufacturer certifies a given truck axle may carry, and therefore the share of the vehicle's total weight that axle may take.
Why it matters. Road legality depends on axle weights, not just total weight, so a container loaded heavily at one end can be over on an axle while under overall. Cargo placement in the box decides it.
The market value of everything produced inside a country's borders, whoever owns the assets. Unlike gross national product it leaves out earnings from that country's operations abroad and the reinvested profits of foreign affiliates.
The market value of everything produced by a country's labor and capital, including earnings from its operations abroad and reinvested profits in foreign affiliates.
A weight measure of 2,240 pounds, also called a long ton.
A measure of a vessel's enclosed volume rather than of its cargo, derived by dividing the cubic capacity of its closed spaces by one hundred. A ship's register states both gross and net tonnage.
The combined weight of a vehicle and everything it is carrying.
The maximum loaded weight a manufacturer certifies for a vehicle, counting the vehicle itself, its fuel and fluids, and a full payload.
The total weight of a consignment including its packaging, as opposed to net weight, which counts only the goods.
A vessel touching or striking the bottom of a waterway, also called running aground.
A grouping formed in 1990 of relatively prosperous or populous developing countries, meeting to discuss cooperation that would strengthen their international economic position. It operates without a permanent administrative structure.
The developing country caucus that began in the early 1960s and kept its original name even as membership grew past a hundred and twenty. It coordinates positions on economic questions across the United Nations and other forums.
The group of industrial countries, eleven since Switzerland joined, that undertook under standing borrowing arrangements to make substantial sums in their own currencies available to the International Monetary Fund for lending. It has long been influential in international monetary matters.
Finance ministers from 24 developing member countries of the International Monetary Fund, drawn evenly from the African, Asian, and Latin American blocs of the wider developing country caucus, formed in 1971 to offset the influence of the industrial country group.
The global standards body for product identification and barcoding, formed when the North American code councils joined the international article numbering association. It maintains the numbering systems behind retail barcodes and supply chain data exchange.
Why it matters. Retail and marketplace listings hang off GS1 numbering, and so increasingly do customs and e-commerce data requirements. Getting the identifiers right at the outset saves relabelling later.
Canada's Goods and Services Tax, payable on most goods and services whether supplied domestically or imported.
The Chinese term for the web of business and personal relationships that underpins getting things done: connections, standing, favors given and owed, trust, and courtesy.
Why it matters. Relationship-based business is normal and lawful, but the line between courtesy and a corrupt payment is drawn by your home country's law, not local practice. Keep gifts documented and modest.
A contract under which one party undertakes to pay another's debt or perform another's obligation if that party defaults.
The bloc of six Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, formed in 1981 against the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war. Between them they hold a large share of world oil reserves and account for a substantial part of oil moving in international trade.
50 terms in this group.
The rules drafted to stop shipowners contracting out of all responsibility for cargo, setting a minimum liability carriers cannot go below. The cargo interest bears the loss unless it can show the vessel was unseaworthy, improperly manned, or unfit to carry and preserve the goods, and the carrier remains excused for certain listed risks.
The amended international protocols governing carriage of goods by sea and unifying rules on bills of lading, building on the convention originally drafted at Brussels in 1924 and revised by later protocols. They set the carrier's obligations, its defenses, and the limits on its liability.
Why it matters. These rules, or a national statute enacting them, decide what a carrier owes you when cargo is lost. The per-package limit is why insurance rather than the bill of lading is your real protection.
Bill of Lading Terms →A stamp applied to gold and silver ware, in use in England since the fourteenth century, certifying the purity of the metal.
The cost of moving, transferring, and preparing stock for despatch, excluding the freight charge itself.
A bulk carrier or tanker of roughly 30,000 to 50,000 deadweight tons, a larger version of the handysize class.
A small bulk carrier or tanker up to around 30,000 deadweight tons and about 560 to 600 feet long. Shallower draft and greater manoeuvrability let these ships work berths larger vessels cannot, and they make up much of the world's cargo fleet.
Charges levied on users of a harbour, generally applied to its upkeep.
A U.S. fee of 0.125 percent of cargo value, collected on imports arriving by vessel through most ports, funding maintenance dredging of federal channels.
Why it matters. HMF applies to ocean arrivals only, so the same goods flown in do not carry it, and unlike duty it is not eliminated by a trade agreement. Include it in landed cost when comparing air against ocean.
The official running a port's operations, including traffic movement, anchorages, and berth allocation, normally an experienced master mariner with detailed knowledge of the port and its approaches.
A licensed specialist who takes navigational charge of a ship through the channels into and out of a port and within defined waters.
A loan repayable in a hard, freely convertible currency rather than in local money.
A currency stable at home and abroad, accepted internationally and freely convertible. The phrase is also used for coin as distinct from paper money.
A container whose roof hinges open or lifts off, so heavy equipment can be loaded from above by crane rather than through the doors.
The combined federal and provincial sales tax applying in certain Canadian provinces, replacing separate charges with a single rate.
Technical specifications adopted by the European standards organizations, conformity with which is the usual route to demonstrating that a product meets the essential requirements of the relevant EU directives.
The international goods classification standard used by manufacturers, carriers, exporters, importers, customs authorities, and statisticians to describe traded goods under a single commodity code. Developed through the international customs body in Brussels, it is a hierarchy of headings and subheadings that most trading nations have adopted.
Why it matters. The first six digits are the same worldwide; the digits after that are national and set the duty rate. Quoting a supplier's six-digit code is a starting point, not a classification.
Cubeship Customs Support →The structured schedule of goods and duty rates U.S. customs uses to classify imports, fix the duty owed, and supply trade statistics. Its structure follows the international commodity description and coding system.
The opening in a vessel's deck giving access to the cargo hold below.
Local movement of goods and the charge for it, used interchangeably with cartage and drayage.
An informal international network of brokers who transfer value and exchange currency outside conventional banking channels, settling between themselves rather than moving money across borders. It originated in South Asia and is often the only practical channel where banking services are thin.
Why it matters. Most hawala transfers are ordinary remittances, but the absence of an audit trail makes the channel attractive for sanctions evasion. A trade payment routed this way should prompt questions.
The nine United Nations categories describing the hazard a chemical, physical, or biological material presents: explosives; gases, whether flammable or not; flammable liquids; flammable solids; oxidizing substances; toxic and infectious substances; radioactive material; corrosives; and a ninth class for miscellaneous dangerous goods.
Why it matters. The class drives everything downstream: packing group, labelling, documentation, and whether the goods can fly at all. Get it from the safety data sheet before booking, not after.
A substance determined to pose a risk to health, safety, or property when moved in commerce, and formally designated as such by the transport authority. Detailed regulations govern how such goods must be classified, packed, marked, and documented.
The everyday abbreviation for hazardous materials, covering goods that need special classification, packing, marking, and documentation to move lawfully.
Items too heavy for a vessel's own gear to lift, requiring specialist shore or shipboard equipment.
The charge for loading or discharging items beyond the capacity of a ship's tackle, normally reflecting the specialist port equipment needed.
A ship carrying very high capacity deck cranes and other gear so it can handle outsized or extremely heavy items unaided. Semi-submersible types float large objects, including damaged ships, on and off, and roll-on versions also exist.
Why it matters. Project cargo that no crane ashore can lift is what these ships are for. Booking one is a chartering exercise rather than a freight booking, and it needs long lead time.
To offset an exposure, and by extension an instrument with offsetting characteristics, as where securities expected to rise with inflation are held against it.
How much of the underlying instrument, or how many options, are needed to hedge a position, determined by the option's delta.
Protecting against price movement by taking a position that offsets an existing one, typically a purchase set against a sale, often for delivery at a later date, so that a gain on one side cancels a loss on the other. Traders in commodities, currencies, and securities use it, as do manufacturers and other producers.
Why it matters. For an importer the exposure is usually currency and the horizon is the lead time. Hedging is about removing uncertainty from landed cost, not about forecasting the market.
Compression of cotton bales to a much higher density than standard, normally done for export or long-haul domestic movement so more weight fits the available space.
A container seal built around a metal rod with a formed head, closed by a separate locking mechanism that has to be cut to open.
Why it matters. A compliant high security seal is a condition of supply chain security programs, and the seal number must match across the packing list, the bill of lading, and the entry. A mismatch is treated as a possible tampering event.
A seal made from a cable and a locking mechanism, either permanently attached at one end in a single-piece design or supplied separately to slip onto the cable in a two-piece design.
A seal built as a locking body with an attached bail, such as wire shackle and keyless padlock types.
Joining two or more parts of a single consignment that originate in different places so they travel together under a single bill of lading, moving from one shipper to a single consignee.
Freight held at the carrier's destination facility for the consignee to collect rather than delivered onward.
An agreement in which one party takes on responsibility for all damages and liability arising from a transaction, releasing the other from them.
Someone holding a negotiable instrument or document of title who took it for value, honestly, and with no notice of any competing claim or defense against it. That status gives the holder better rights than the person who transferred it had.
Why it matters. This is why a negotiable bill of lading can be traded while cargo is afloat: a good faith purchaser takes it free of disputes between the original parties. It is also why losing the originals matters so much.
Contracting service work to people who do it from home rather than from a company site, whether as independent contractors or as employees. Where cottage industry describes goods made at home, this describes services, and it combines remote working with outsourcing.
A Cantonese term for a trading house, applied in the West mainly to the Hong Kong and Macau firms that handled trade with southern China from the nineteenth century onward.
To pay or accept a draft that complies with the terms of a credit.
An open-top rail wagon with sides and ends for free-flowing dry bulk, loaded from above and discharged by gravity through funnel-shaped outlets underneath. Typical cargo runs to grain, minerals, plastic pellets, aggregates, and sand, and the wagons come in open and covered forms, the covered type protecting anything that must stay dry.
A road trailer for free-flowing dry bulk, discharged by gravity through funnel-shaped outlets underneath.
An export trading company handling a range of similar or identical products drawn from several manufacturers, as with trade-group export organizations and those formed by associations of agricultural cooperatives.
Growth by acquiring or merging with firms making similar products for similar markets, as when one supermarket chain buys another. It is a route to scale within a market segment; a combination of equals is usually called a merger, while a larger firm absorbing a smaller one is an acquisition.
The transport document a freight forwarder issues to its own customer for air cargo it has consolidated. Banks treat it like a carrier air waybill under a documentary credit provided it shows the issuer taking on carrier liability or acting as carrier.
Why it matters. The house document is your contract with the forwarder; the master covers the forwarder's contract with the airline. Which one your credit calls for decides whether the presentation works.
The classification number that determines the duty rate on an imported product, taken from the tariff schedule. The first six digits are the internationally harmonized subheading; the digits after that are national.
Why it matters. Classification is the importer's legal responsibility, not the broker's or the supplier's, and it drives duty, trade agreement eligibility, and whether an antidumping order catches you. A wrong code is the most common reason for a duty bill years after the fact.
The outer body of a vessel, normally of steel, that gives it buoyancy and holds the cargo spaces.
Marine cover on the fabric and machinery of a ship or aircraft itself. The owner buys it, not the merchants whose goods are aboard.
A raised section of rail track in a classification yard. Wagons pushed over it and uncoupled roll down the far side by gravity onto their assigned tracks.
Pricing that rates a multi-piece consignment to one destination on its combined weight rather than piece by piece, normally once the total passes a threshold.
Why it matters. Consolidating several parcels into one hundredweight-rated shipment often beats parcel pricing outright. It is one of the simplest savings available on domestic freight.
189 terms in this group.
A term in a bill of lading or charter party setting out what the parties may do if ice prevents or delays navigation. Wording varies, but a master may typically be entitled to divert to the nearest safe port and discharge cargo bound for an ice-bound one.
The International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, the standard governing how hazardous goods are classified, packed, marked, documented, and stowed for carriage by sea.
Why it matters. IMDG governs the sea leg only. The same shipment needs IATA compliance for an air leg and ADR or the local road rules for the inland leg, and being compliant for one mode does not carry over.
A U.S. entry procedure allowing certain shipments to be released as soon as they arrive, provided a special permit is applied for before arrival. The entry summary and estimated duty must then follow within ten working days of release.
Why it matters. Immediate delivery separates release from the duty filing, which is how perishables and time-critical cargo avoid sitting at the terminal. The clock on the summary still runs.
An entry allowing imported goods to move on from the arrival port to another destination for clearance. They travel in bond and unappraised, and customs examines them at the final destination instead.
Why it matters. An in-bond move to an inland port can take a container out of a congested gateway before free time runs down. The in-bond entry must be properly closed, or the liability stays open on your bond.
Entry of foreign nationals into a country to settle permanently.
An agency the law infers from the parties' conduct and the circumstances rather than from any express appointment.
Terms not written into a marine policy but so fundamental to the bargain that the law treats them as if they were: that the assured discloses every material fact when applying, that established trade usages for the goods are observed, and that the venture is lawful and properly conducted.
Why it matters. Non-disclosure can void a policy even where the undisclosed fact had nothing to do with the loss. Tell the underwriter about unusual routings, storage, or values before the risk attaches.
Parts of a contract that are not written down but are taken to form part of it, whether because the governing law reads them in or because custom and trade usage establish them.
The volatility the market is pricing into an option, inferred from its premium rather than measured from past price movement.
Undertakings not written into a contract but so basic that the law gives them the same force. In marine insurance the principal ones are that the assured discloses everything material to the risk when applying, that established trade usages for the goods are followed, and that the adventure is lawful.
Completing the entry formalities so customs releases the goods to the importer.
The Canadian schedule of goods whose import is subject to surveillance or quota, historically weighted toward textiles, clothing, and footwear from lower-cost producing countries.
A commercial letter of credit opened specifically to finance bringing goods in.
Tax charged on goods entering a country, set by the tariff classification and the origin of the goods.
Tariff Refund Calculator →In EU usage, goods held under a suspensive procedure, meaning goods under customs control, moving in transit, or sent to a free zone, together with goods put into free circulation under the drawback variant of inward processing.
A document some governments require authorizing particular goods to be imported.
A ceiling on how much of a product may be imported, administered by issuing licences that allocate shares of the total permitted for a period. A licence may also name the country the goods must be bought from.
Why it matters. Quota goods are released in order of presentation, so timing matters as much as paperwork. Once a quota fills, the shipment waits for the next period or pays the over-quota rate.
Selling the right to import a set quantity of quota-restricted goods to the highest bidder rather than allocating it administratively.
Temporary measures a government imposes to restrict imports of a product so domestic producers get respite from competition.
The range of tariff and non-tariff measures an importing country uses to control inbound volumes, including duties and quotas, limits on the currency available to pay for imports, mandatory import deposits, surcharges, and outright prohibitions on certain categories.
Domestic producers whose commercial survival is threatened by imported competition on price, quality, or service.
Services supporting import operations, covering sourcing, documentation, customs entry, and inland delivery, the mirror of the export service function.
A development strategy of replacing imported goods with domestically made ones, rather than building industry around exports.
The person, firm, or entity that brings traded articles in from abroad and puts them on the home market.
The identifier U.S. customs assigns to a person or company importing goods, used across entries, statements, and reporting.
Why it matters. Filing under your own importer number rather than a broker's gives you a portal account, your own duty history, and the ability to audit what was declared for you.
The party legally answerable for an import complying with the law. That is normally whoever owns or bought the goods, or a licensed broker they designate to act for them.
Why it matters. The importer of record owns the declaration and the liability that comes with it, whoever actually filed. Acting as importer of record for someone else's goods means taking on their compliance risk.
Cubeship Customs Support →The advance filing U.S. importers must make for ocean cargo, commonly called 10+2, covering ten data elements from the importer alongside two from the carrier. It is generally due no later than 24 hours before loading at the foreign port.
Why it matters. ISF is a deadline against vessel loading, not arrival, so it depends entirely on supplier data reaching you early. Late or inaccurate filings draw liquidated damages and can flag the container before it sails.
Goods of foreign origin entering a country, together with domestically produced goods returning unchanged or after being processed or assembled abroad.
Goods that have cleared customs and gone into domestic commerce, whether directly on arrival or later on withdrawal from a bonded warehouse or a foreign trade zone. Some countries call the statistics compiled this way special imports.
The total of payments for merchandise imports, military spending abroad, transport and travel costs, other private and government services, and income and service payments affiliates make to foreign parents. Merchandise imports dominate the figure.
Movement of imported goods under customs custody, before duty has been paid and before the goods have been released into commerce. The cargo travels under a bond that guarantees it will arrive at the destination port, be exported, or be entered properly.
Why it matters. An in-bond move lets you clear at an inland port instead of the arrival port, which can cut congestion cost. The bond stays open until the movement is closed out, so chase the arrival message rather than assuming it landed.
The customs module tracking merchandise from the point it is unloaded at the port of entry or export, recording departures, arrivals, and closures so each in-bond movement is accounted for.
Why it matters. An in-bond movement that is never closed leaves an open liability against your bond, and customs will eventually come looking. Reconcile in-bond closures rather than assuming they happened.
A survey of travelers leaving the United States that gathers information on who visitors are, how they travel, and what they spend, feeding the travel accounts and balance of payments estimates. Carrier participation is voluntary and results are grossed up to cover the whole population.
An option with intrinsic value: a call whose market price exceeds the strike, or a put whose market price sits below it. For European options the comparison is against the forward price at expiry.
Planning, acquiring, and controlling the flow of materials, parts, sub-assemblies, and components from outside suppliers into production, whether delivered straight to the line or held in intermediate storage first.
A motivating force encouraging greater activity or higher efficiency.
A reduced freight rate offered on large or heavy loads to encourage shippers to tender bigger volumes.
A policy extension covering loss caused by a latent defect in the carrying vessel's hull or machinery that reasonable diligence would not have revealed, along with certain errors of navigation and management. Because the law does not let cargo recover a latent defect loss from the shipowner, the clause fills what would otherwise be a hole in cover. It takes its name from a well-known case involving a ship of that name.
Money or its equivalent earned or accrued from selling goods or services.
A designation for a company whose shareholders enjoy limited liability. In some jurisdictions the form carries joint and several liability for the directors alongside limited liability for shareholders.
The International Chamber of Commerce's standard trade terms defining, for a sale of goods, where delivery happens, when risk passes from seller to buyer, and which side pays which costs. The current edition is Incoterms 2020, with eleven rules.
Why it matters. Incoterms allocate cost and risk. They do not transfer title, do not decide who is importer of record, and do not say which law governs the contract, so those need their own clauses.
Incoterms 2020 Guide →The set of eleven trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that took effect in 2011 and were superseded by the 2020 revision at the end of 2019. The main change since is that Delivered at Terminal became Delivered at Place Unloaded.
Why it matters. Contracts still cite the 2010 rules, and a contract naming a specific edition is governed by that edition. Say which version you mean rather than writing the bare three letters.
Incoterms Guide →The current set of eleven trade terms issued by the International Chamber of Commerce, in force since the start of 2020, giving uniform meaning to the delivery clauses used in contracts for the sale of goods. Seven rules work with any mode of transport and four apply only to sea and inland waterway carriage.
Why it matters. Incoterms allocate cost, risk, and who handles export and import formalities. They do not transfer title, and they are not a substitute for the sale contract's payment and title terms.
Incoterms Guide →To make good an actual loss. Insurance policies and bonds promise to indemnify, so nothing is recoverable until a loss has genuinely been suffered, at which point the insured is restored to the financial position it held before it.
An agreement to reimburse another party for a loss the agreement covers, whether in whole or in part. A buyer might take indemnity cover against damage or destruction occurring after title has passed to it. In finance the word also describes a bond protecting against others failing to perform.
A conference member's right to depart from the group's agreed rates or terms without needing prior approval from the conference.
Borrowing in a foreign currency where the interest rate is tied to an agreed scale rather than fixed outright.
A promissory note issued and paying interest in a single currency, but whose redemption value tracks the exchange rate of a different one.
Selling to an overseas buyer through a middleman located in the exporter's home country, such as a commission agent, export management company, trading house, marketing board, or a purchasing agent acting for a foreign government.
An exchange rate stating how much of the trader's own currency one unit of the foreign currency is worth.
A tax on spending, collected from the payer by an intermediary such as a retailer and passed on to the authorities. Sales tax, value added tax, and goods and services taxes all work this way.
A Canadian permit authorizing specified goods or technology to go to named consignees in a named country, as opposed to a blanket general permit.
A U.S. authorization permitting a stated quantity of products or technical data to go to a single named recipient, valid for a fixed term. One can also be required to authorize reexport of U.S.-origin goods to a new destination.
A variant spelling of endorsement, the signature transferring a negotiable instrument or document of title.
The schedule of dual-use goods whose export the postwar multilateral control committee restricted on strategic grounds, a forerunner of today's national control lists.
Government measures intended to create favorable conditions for industry generally or for particular sectors. The toolkit runs to tax incentives for investment or export, direct and indirect subsidies, special financing, protection from foreign competition, worker training, regional development, and research support.
The Canadian federal department charged with developing the country's industrial, scientific, and technology sectors, which also supports companies trading internationally.
A U.S. advisory structure created by trade legislation and jointly sponsored by the commerce department and the trade representative, in which several hundred industry executives advise government on trade policy, focusing on negotiating objectives and positions.
A family of U.S. customs programs drawing the trade community into cooperation against drug smuggling and terrorism, promoting best practice and stronger security so legitimate shipments cannot be exploited. They work with foreign manufacturers, exporters, and carriers as well as importers.
A sector-level committee within the U.S. industry consultation structure, advising negotiators on the interests of a particular industry.
U.S. overseas market research on a narrow industry segment, covering market size, the competitive landscape, main end users, the products with best prospects, and how to get into the market.
The claim that temporary protection lets a new industry establish itself and eventually compete internationally. Historically, sound and efficiently run new industries have seen costs fall as output grew, while those built on heavy reliance on government support have tended not to.
An older synonym for flammable, meaning capable of catching fire. Modern regulation uses flammable to avoid the ambiguity.
An older term for flammable liquids, those with a low flash point and classed under UN Class 3.
A fall in money's purchasing power, arising where the money supply grows while the supply of goods stays flat or grows more slowly, pushing prices up.
A simplified entry procedure customs may allow for non-commercial shipments and for commercial ones below a set value threshold.
Why it matters. Informal entry cuts the paperwork and often the fees, but it does not remove partner agency requirements or origin marking rules. Splitting shipments to stay under the threshold is treated as evasion.
The field concerned with applying computers and communications networks to storing, finding, sending, and processing data.
The shared responsibility under which customs sets out its requirements clearly to the trade, and traders in turn conduct their regulated activity in line with the law.
Why it matters. Informed compliance is the flip side of reasonable care: once the agency has published guidance, you are expected to have read it. Ignorance of a published requirement is not a defense to a penalty.
The underlying physical and organizational base an economy runs on, including transport, communications, and other public services.
Breach of a law, regulation, contract, or right, above all the rights conferred by patent, copyright, and trademark. Remedies are typically an injunction against continuing and recovery of the damage done or the profits made.
Damage that any normal carriage can be expected to produce purely because of what the goods are or the state they were in, an internal cause rather than an external one. Imperfectly cured hides deteriorating in transit is the classic illustration.
Why it matters. Inherent vice is excluded from cargo cover as a matter of course, which is why perishables and moisture-sensitive goods need the right packing and the right container rather than the right policy.
The deposit each side must lodge with the clearing house, through its broker or bank, to open a position in a futures contract.
A right held by a WTO member to seek compensation if another member impairs a bound tariff rate. It derives from concessions won in past negotiations and can be exercised whether or not the holder currently supplies the product.
A court order requiring a party to do something or to stop doing it, the standard remedy where legal rights are being infringed, particularly patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
A determination that imports are harming, or are likely to harm, a domestic industry. It underpins safeguard cases and is required in antidumping and most countervailing duty cases alongside the findings on dumping or subsidy.
The transport document covering the overland leg to the exporter's international carrier. A through bill can sometimes cover the whole journey, but exports usually need both an inland and an ocean document.
A transport operator moving import and export traffic between ports and inland points.
The inland version of Canada's pre-arrival review system, letting release data be submitted and assessed before goods reach the inland customs office.
Short form for the inland pre-arrival review system used in Canadian customs release processing.
Inability to meet debts as they fall due, the condition underlying bankruptcy proceedings.
Obtaining services, skills, materials, or manufacturing capacity from within the same organization, whether from another department, division, or subsidiary, rather than buying them outside. It is the opposite of outsourcing.
A document confirming goods were inspected against industry, customer, government, or carrier specifications before shipment, normally issued by an independent testing organization.
The standardized marine cargo wordings issued by the London market, revised over time, which have largely replaced the older all risks, with average, and free of particular average forms internationally, though the historic wordings remain in use in the United States. A is the widest cover, B lists named perils, and C is confined to major casualties.
Why it matters. Which letter your policy carries decides what actually gets paid. Accepting C under a CIF purchase leaves most realistic loss scenarios uninsured.
Any written document that formally records a legal agreement or transaction.
Reusable carriers of goods such as pallets, containers, tanks, and cores, which may move across borders repeatedly without a formal entry each time.
Why it matters. Because they are not treated as imported merchandise, qualifying equipment avoids duty on every crossing. Getting equipment recognized as an instrument of international traffic is worth doing for any returnable packaging program.
A container built to slow heat transfer so cargo stays within temperature limits for a period. It is neither heated nor refrigerated, and it suits electronics, ammunition, and some foods rather than anything needing active temperature control.
A real and identifiable financial stake in the continued safety of the person or property insured. The policyholder or beneficiary must stand to lose directly if the insured event happens. Ownership is not required: a party can hold insurable interest in goods it does not own, as where title has passed but risk has not.
Why it matters. Under Incoterms, risk and title can sit with different parties at the same moment, and cover bought by someone with no insurable interest is unenforceable. Match who insures to who bears the risk under the rule you sold on.
A person representing and selling the products of one insurance company.
A person or firm placing business with a range of insurers rather than a single one, working independently or as part of a forwarding or logistics company. The distinction from an agent is that a broker can source cover from any market.
Why it matters. A broker that also books your freight is convenient but not neutral. For anything above routine values, getting the cover quoted independently is worth the extra step.
A document setting out the type and amount of cover in force on a particular shipment, given to the consignee as assurance that loss or damage in transit is insured. It may certify that the shipment falls under a stated open policy and stand in place of that policy, whose terms still govern.
A demand on an insurer or its agent for compensation for a loss the policy may cover, wholly or in part.
A business that issues policies for a premium and pays claims arising from loss, delay, or damage falling within the policy terms. In the United States insurers are typically authorized by charter to write only particular classes, such as fire and marine, life, casualty, or surety.
The amount and type of insurance carried against a particular risk.
The form, on paper or electronic, by which a single shipment is reported to the insurer under an open policy.
Any of the documents evidencing cover: a policy, a special marine policy, an open cover policy, or a certificate.
The binding contract between insurer and insured setting the terms of cover along with its exclusions and any endorsements.
What the insured pays the insurer for the cover a policy provides.
The party protected by a policy, which pays the premium and whose risk the cover addresses. It must hold an insurable interest, and in marine business must be able to give the underwriter information about the cargo, the vessel, and the voyage. Getting the amount and type of cover right is the insured's responsibility.
The total sum cover is taken out for, normally the goods plus inland and ocean freight, packing, forwarding charges, consular fees, and the insurance cost itself.
Why it matters. Cargo policies are conventionally written at cost plus freight plus ten percent, which approximates the buyer's lost profit and expenses. Insuring only the invoice value leaves you short of what the loss actually costs.
The party to the contract that undertakes to indemnify losses or provide the service, meaning the insurance company.
A service combining every part of the cargo chain, bringing carrier, forwarder, handler, and agent functions together under one provider.
A carrier operating in two or more modes itself, such as a courier running both aircraft and trucks, or a line owning container ships and the trucks that move the boxes inland.
Why it matters. An integrated carrier controls the handovers that usually cause delay, which is why express operators can commit to a delivery time. The tradeoff is less routing flexibility and a single point of failure.
Running logistics as one system rather than as separate activities, joining up warehousing, packaging, local and international transport, market warehousing, and final delivery across the whole chain from production through to the customer.
The discipline of making sure every requirement a logistics system depends on is met, spanning planning, funding, facilities, people, hardware, and software.
Creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and the symbols, names, and images used in commerce. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets protect it, and how far that protection reaches differs between countries.
Why it matters. Customs will seize infringing goods, and the importer of record answers for them whatever the supplier claimed. Recording your own marks with customs is also the practical way to stop counterfeits of your products at the border.
The rights to hold, use, or dispose of what human ingenuity has created, secured through copyright, patent, trademark, and related protections.
The satellite organization formed under multilateral agreement that owns and operates a global communications satellite system used by participating countries.
Wording on a bill of lading, sea waybill, or multimodal document reserving the carrier's right to change the loading port, the vessel, or the discharge port, as in an intended port of shipment or an intended ocean vessel.
Why it matters. Under a letter of credit, an intended vessel or port is not evidence of actual shipment, so the document usually needs an on board notation naming what was really used. It is a routine cause of discrepancy.
Between parties who are not together. A contract made inter absentee is concluded without the parties meeting face to face.
A regional development institution founded in 1959 to support economic and social progress across its Latin American and Caribbean member countries.
Trade taking place inside an established bloc, such as commerce between two member states of the same union.
A U.S. interagency body established in 1988, chaired by the commerce department and drawing in a dozen other agencies, that reviews policy on countertrade and offsets and negotiates arrangements with other countries.
Transactions banks conduct directly with one another, including short-term deposits and currency trades, that set the wholesale rates underlying customer pricing.
The rate at which banks offer to lend to the most creditworthy of their peers, for a stated period, in a stated currency and size. The London version was the best known benchmark until it was discontinued and replaced by alternative reference rates.
Passing freight or transport equipment from one carrier to another, and in data terms the transfer of electronic records between computer systems.
An agreement fixing who is accountable for the use and upkeep of carrier-owned equipment, setting the terms on which it is leased so the owner's financial and legal position is protected.
Why it matters. The interchange agreement is what makes you responsible for a chassis or container once your driver takes it. Damage found on return gets billed under it.
The location where one carrier hands freight or equipment over to another.
A document recording the condition of equipment at the moment it changes hands between carriers.
Why it matters. This is the record that decides who pays for container damage. Photographing the box at pickup and return is the cheapest dispute prevention available.
A carrier moving cargo between ports of the same country, and in U.S. usage specifically a water carrier running between east and west coast ports by way of the Panama Canal.
A carrier hauling freight for a corporate affiliate and charging for it. In the United States this is lawful where the affiliate is wholly owned by the carrier or where the carrier holds common carrier authority.
The Danish and Norwegian designation for a general partnership, in which every partner carries joint and several liability.
Seeking profit from differences in interest rates across maturities or instruments.
The theory that where one country's interest rates exceed another's, the higher-yielding currency will weaken against the lower-yielding one, so that hedged returns converge.
Moving one consignment across two or more carriers under connecting arrangements.
Provisional or interim. An interlocutory injunction restrains a party temporarily while proceedings run, before any final judgment.
Moving freight in one loading unit across two or more modes of transport without handling the goods themselves when the mode changes.
Why it matters. Rail intermodal is usually cheaper than over-the-road on long domestic hauls but adds transit days and ramp dwell. The comparison only works if you price the drayage at both ends.
An intermediary that arranges, buys, and resells intermodal freight services. It brokers capacity rather than operating as a carrier itself.
Coordinated movement of freight over longer distances using a combination of modes and providers, drawing on forwarders, rail piggyback, containerization, air, ocean, consolidators, and road carriers.
Why it matters. Intermodal rail typically undercuts long-haul trucking on cost while adding transit days, and the economics turn on drayage at both ends. Compare door to door, not linehaul to linehaul.
The airline trade association serving carriers, shippers, agents, and governments. It maintains the three-letter airport codes, the two-letter airline codes, standards for unit load devices, and the dangerous goods regulations used across air cargo.
The body that administers safeguards ensuring states without nuclear weapons do not divert sensitive equipment or material from peaceful uses. Before approving an export of nuclear material or equipment, a supplier state must obtain assurances that the recipient will place it under those safeguards.
The institution agreed at Bretton Woods in 1944 and operating from 1946, set up to help rebuild economies after the war and now lending to government agencies in developing member countries, or guaranteeing private loans, for projects such as agricultural modernization and infrastructure.
A joint U.S. industry and government program helping exporters meet qualified foreign buyers at domestic trade shows. Leading shows in sectors with export potential are selected and promoted overseas through embassy channels and commercial newsletters.
A World Bank body encouraging investment flows by providing conciliation and arbitration facilities for disputes between governments and foreign investors, and publishing research on foreign investment law.
A non-governmental body representing world business across more than a hundred countries, working to ease trade and investment. It publishes the Incoterms rules and the uniform practice governing documentary credits, and runs a leading international arbitration court.
Why it matters. Two ICC publications shape almost every cross-border sale you make: the Incoterms rules and the letter of credit rules. Both are updated periodically, and contracts should name the edition.
Incoterms Guide →A commodity agreement among cocoa producing and consuming countries aimed at steadying the market for cocoa.
A commodity agreement among coffee producing and consuming countries aimed at steadying the market for coffee.
An understanding, usually set out in a legal instrument, covering trade in a single basic commodity and negotiated among the bulk of countries shipping and buying it in commercially meaningful volume. Some carry economic provisions defending a price range through buffer stocks or export quotas; others focus on research, promotion, and information.
A fee-based background report on a specific foreign company prepared by commercial officers abroad, covering the type of organization, when it was founded, its size and staffing, reputation, territory, languages, product lines, principal owners, and financial and trade references.
Why it matters. A government-prepared profile is a cheap first check on an unfamiliar supplier or buyer. It does not replace factory-level diligence but it catches the obvious problems.
The international body overseeing standards for intermodal containers, including the identification and numbering system defined in the relevant ISO standard, and the register of owner prefixes.
A World Bank Group affiliate created in 1959 to lend to developing countries on concessional terms, without interest and over long repayment periods, serving countries that cannot carry conventional development loans.
The body founded in 1906 that handles international standardization for electrical and electronic engineering, working alongside the wider international standards organization which covers other fields.
A body created in 1974 to give member countries a forum for cooperating on energy, helping them prepare for oil supply disruptions and cut oil dependence through joint research.
The largest non-governmental body in transport and logistics, representing the freight forwarding industry worldwide. It speaks for the sector at international organizations, publishes information and standard forwarding documents, supports vocational training, and works on electronic data tools.
Why it matters. The standard FIATA documents, including its combined transport bill of lading and forwarder's certificate of receipt, are widely recognized by banks. Using them avoids arguments about whether a house document is acceptable.
The World Bank Group member established in 1956 that works exclusively with the private sector in developing countries, promoting investment there to stimulate economic growth.
The United Nations agency, established in 1948, that coordinates technical matters affecting merchant shipping, covering safety, security, pollution, and the carriage of cargo. It issues the dangerous goods code and guidance on packing and securing cargo in containers.
An international partnership providing mobile satellite capacity to its signatories, who resell worldwide mobile satellite services to maritime, aeronautical, and land customers, including shipping, fishing, research, offshore, and airline users. Service began in the 1970s.
Reports prepared by embassy and consulate staff covering developments in one country of interest to traders and investors, such as new laws, policy and procedural changes, trade regulations, and shifts in the market.
The institution proposed at Bretton Woods in 1944 and established in 1946 to keep the world monetary system stable so trade could expand in an orderly way. It watches members' exchange rate policies and lends them foreign currency to support adjustment when payments difficulties arise.
An agreement among rubber exporting and importing countries intended to steady the price of natural rubber and shield producing countries from extreme swings.
The worldwide federation of national standards bodies, founded in 1947 and covering standardization in every field except electrical and electronic engineering, which belongs to its sister commission. Between them they form the largest system for global standards development.
A United Nations treaty aimed at preventing the spread and introduction of plant pests and promoting measures to control them. It issues international standards for phytosanitary measures, the best known of which governs wood packaging material used in international trade.
Why it matters. The wood packaging standard is why pallets and crates must be heat treated and marked. Untreated wood gets the entire shipment refused, not just the packaging.
The mark permanently applied to wood packaging used in international shipments certifying that it has been treated against plant pests. A paper certificate of treatment is not accepted in its place.
An annual U.S. travel trade event bringing together large numbers of international tour operators and wholesalers to buy packages they then sell through their own retail travel networks.
The international association representing road transport operators, from large fleets to owner-drivers, across coach, taxi, and truck sectors. It advocates for the industry at international bodies, works on safety and environmental performance, and administers the international road transit system.
Amendments to the safety of life at sea convention, developed through the maritime organization, setting security standards for ships on international voyages and for port facilities worldwide. It came into force in 2004 and addresses terrorism, piracy, and smuggling.
A voluntary international numbering system identifying audiovisual works, analogous to the book numbering system. It uses a root segment plus a segment identifying episodes or parts, with a check digit added in human-readable form.
The international numbering standard identifying books, encoding both publisher and title in a ten or thirteen digit number. It was defined by the international standards organization in 1970 and numbers are assigned through national agencies.
A United Nations system classifying business enterprises by the economic activity they carry out, used for comparable statistics across countries.
The international code identifying printed music publications, whether sold, hired, or given away, and regardless of whether the item is a single part, a full score, or one component of a multimedia set. It parallels the book numbering system.
The international numbering standard identifying musical works, built from a distinguishing letter, a nine-digit work identifier, and a check digit.
The international code identifying individual sound and audiovisual recordings and the separate tracks on a release, used chiefly to route royalty payments. It identifies the recording rather than the physical product it appears on.
A common but inexact rendering of the name of the international standards federation, which is properly the International Organization for Standardization.
The organization created by multilateral agreement that owns, maintains, and operates the global satellite communications system used by participating countries.
The United Nations agency responsible for operating procedures and technical standards governing use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbits, and for the international telephone and telegraph network. The radio regulations produced by its conferences carry treaty status.
The trade arm of the U.S. Commerce Department, created in 1980 to run non-agricultural trade activities and support the trade representative's negotiations. It promotes exports of manufactured goods, administers trade statutes and agreements, and advises on trade and commercial policy.
The independent U.S. fact-finding agency whose commissioners review antidumping and countervailing duty petitions from domestic industries seeking relief from unfairly traded imports and make injury determinations. It was formerly the Tariff Commission.
Why it matters. Trade remedy cases turn on two separate findings: dumping or subsidy from the commerce department, and injury from this commission. Either one failing ends the case.
A U.S. multi-agency initiative building a single government-wide system for collecting, using, and distributing international trade data, integrated with the customs modernization platform to act as a single window.
Why it matters. The single window means partner agency data goes in with your customs entry instead of separately. Getting the agency data right at filing is what keeps release automatic.
The U.S. State Department rules controlling export of defense articles, services, and related technical data listed on the munitions list.
Why it matters. ITAR reaches technical data and even conversations with foreign nationals, not just physical shipments. Penalties are severe and there is no small-shipment exemption to rely on.
The formal name of the union created by the Berne copyright convention, now administered within the world intellectual property organization.
A commodity agreement among wheat exporting and importing countries covering trade in wheat and related grains.
A network of physical objects fitted with sensors and software that connect over the internet, exchanging data with other equipment and with back-end systems.
Why it matters. In freight this shows up as container telematics: door sensors, temperature loggers, and GPS units that turn a shipment into a live data feed. For cold chain and high-value cargo it also produces the evidence a claim depends on.
A common carrier whose operations cross state boundaries.
Trade conducted across U.S. state lines. Using telephone or fax across a state boundary, or moving goods by rail or interstate road, brings a transaction within it.
U.S. legislation bringing the rates, rules, and conduct of carriers under regulation where they handle shipments across state lines or move people between states for a fee.
Action by central banks or governments to move their currency's exchange rate, typically by buying large amounts to support it or selling to push it down. Adjusting interest rates to attract or discourage capital serves the same end.
The foreign currency a country buys and sells officially to keep its exchange rate inside permitted margins, normally through the central bank or an equalization fund dealing with commercial banks.
What an item is worth in itself, independent of where it sits or who owns it.
The raw materials, components, work in progress, and finished goods held at a given moment, and the value of that stock.
What it costs to hold stock: the money tied up in it, warehousing, insurance, depreciation of buildings and equipment, obsolescence, taxes, utilities, and administration.
Why it matters. Carrying cost is what makes long ocean lead times expensive in ways the freight rate never shows. Duty paid on goods sitting in a warehouse is part of it, which is the argument for an FTZ.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →Positioning stock strategically across a network to hold total inventory and storage cost down while still meeting demand, adjusting where goods sit as demand patterns move.
The international standard series on risk management, setting out principles and guidelines for identifying, assessing, and treating risk across an organization.
The international standard for identifying, coding, and marking intermodal containers, made up of an owner code, an equipment category identifier, a serial number, and a check digit.
A family of voluntary quality management system standards that apply to any organization regardless of size, sector, or whether it makes products or provides services. They address how an organization manages its processes, not the product itself.
Why it matters. Certification says a supplier controls its processes and keeps records, not that the goods meet your specification. Treat it as a floor, not as a substitute for inspection.
International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, prepared by the plant protection convention's secretariat as part of the wider plant quarantine program, giving member countries agreed standards, guidelines, and recommendations.
Why it matters. The wood packaging standard in this series governs pallets and crates worldwide. Confirm treatment and marking before the goods are packed, not at the port.
The abbreviation for the international standard recording code, which identifies individual sound and audiovisual recordings.
The opening of a documentary credit by the buyer's bank, resting on the application made to it and the credit relationship behind that application.
Unless a transport document says otherwise, the date it was issued counts as the date of shipment or loading. Under a documentary credit, documents dated before the credit itself are acceptable unless the credit forbids it.
The buyer's bank that opens a letter of credit at the buyer's request in favor of the seller. Also called the opening bank.
The carrier whose name appears on the transport document as its issuer, and which thereby enters into the contract of carriage.
22 terms in this group.
Japan's public financial institution and export credit agency, formed in 1999 by merging the export-import bank with the overseas economic cooperation fund, wholly owned by the state.
The Japanese trade promotion body, largely government funded, which was set up to help Japanese firms export and now also assists foreign companies seeking to sell into Japan.
The agency established in 1974 that administers the grant side of Japanese official development assistance, covering both aid given without any repayment obligation and technical cooperation through trainees, experts, equipment, projects, and development studies.
A Japanese government-owned bank founded in 1951 to help develop and diversify the economy, which also lends to foreign companies under programs promoting inward direct investment and facility development in Japan.
Cargo or ship's equipment thrown overboard, usually to lighten a vessel in distress, that then sinks or washes ashore.
Throwing cargo or ship's gear overboard to lighten a vessel in an emergency. It is one of the twelve traditional marine perils, and because the sacrifice is made for the common safety it usually gives rise to a general average claim.
Why it matters. A jettison you never see can still cost you: cargo saved on board contributes to the loss of cargo thrown over. That is general average, and it is the reason cargo insurance matters even on an undamaged shipment.
A pier, dock, or wharf built for working ships, and separately a structure projecting into the water to shelter a harbour or shoreline from storms and erosion.
An agent authorized to transact business for two or more transport operators.
A guarantee under which each guarantor can be pursued for the whole obligation, not merely a share of it. On a bill of exchange it is given by signing the draft as guarantor.
Liability shared by two or more parties who are each answerable in full, so the injured party can recover the whole amount from any one of them or from all together. Availability varies by country and some jurisdictions cap what a single party can be held to where several are responsible.
A policy on a single risk written by two or more insurers together, which is different from reinsurance.
A single through rate covering cargo that moves over two or more carriers.
An unincorporated association whose ownership is divided into shares, carrying features of both a company and a partnership. It is created under statutory authority and treated differently from one jurisdiction to another.
Two or more parties combining for a single transaction or a continuing enterprise, sharing profits and losses between them. In international business it usually means joint management and shared risk between firms in different countries, and where capital is jointly owned it is called an equity joint venture.
Why it matters. Many markets require a local partner for market access, and the joint venture then becomes the importer of record. Who controls the entity decides who carries the customs and sanctions exposure.
U.S. maritime legislation requiring vessels carrying passengers or cargo between U.S. ports to be built domestically, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. mariners. Its stated purpose is to sustain a national shipbuilding and repair base, maintain seafaring jobs and training, and keep maritime capacity available in an emergency.
Why it matters. This is why moving a container from Los Angeles to Honolulu or San Juan costs what it does. Foreign flag vessels cannot carry it, so domestic routings need planning around a much smaller pool of tonnage.
A court's decision in a proceeding, together with the reasoning that led to it.
The laws, courts, judges, and court officers through which justice is administered in a country or jurisdiction.
An entity the law treats as a person in its own right, capable of holding rights and obligations, as distinct from a natural person.
A court's authority to hear a case and apply the law to it, and the geographic area over which that authority runs. Concurrent jurisdiction exists where two courts can properly take the same case.
Why it matters. Where a dispute will be heard often matters more than what the law says, because enforcing a judgment abroad is hard. This is why arbitration clauses name a seat.
An act intended and able to produce a legal effect, such as creating, ending, or altering a right. Signing a power of attorney is one, since it confers authority on an agent.
An organization the law recognizes as having legal personality separate from the people behind it.
A production and inventory approach that times the arrival of materials, components, and work in progress to when they are actually needed, rather than holding stock that ties up capital and warehouse space.
Why it matters. Just in time works against long, variable ocean lead times, which is why importers running it end up air freighting to cover gaps. The real question is where you hold the buffer, not whether you hold one.
5 terms in this group.
The Japanese designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The Japanese term for gradual, orderly, continuous improvement, and the management approach built around embedding that habit across a business.
A demand-driven production and inventory method developed in Japan that uses a signal, historically a card, to trigger replenishment. Its purpose is to keep raw material and work in progress at the minimum the line actually needs.
A charge levied on a vessel for entering or lying in certain ports.
The Japan Business Federation, founded in 1946 as a privately run body without profit motive, representing virtually every branch of Japanese economic activity and speaking for business in policy debate.
110 terms in this group.
A U.S. conservation statute passed in 1900 to stop illegally taken game being moved across state lines. Repeated amendment has turned it into a broad environmental law covering both animals and plants and reaching international as well as domestic trade.
The 2008 amendment extending the conservation statute to ban importing, selling, or trading illegally harvested wood and forest products, with declaration requirements attaching to a wide range of goods containing plant material.
Why it matters. It reaches finished goods, not just timber: furniture, flooring, paper, and packaging can all require a plant declaration. Knowing the species and country of harvest becomes a sourcing requirement.
The act of loading cargo onto a conveyance, and the cargo itself.
Goods or wreckage tied to a buoy and dropped into the sea so they can be located and recovered afterwards.
From the French for let it be, an approach that leaves markets to run their own course with minimal government intervention.
A South Asian unit meaning one hundred thousand, used above all for sums of money.
To bring a vessel or aircraft to shore or ground, and to put cargo ashore from a ship.
A U.S. customs program begun in 1995 to deter drug smugglers from using commercial vehicles crossing the southwest land border. It has since been folded into the wider supply chain security partnership.
Moving containers from one foreign country by sea, crossing an intermediate country overland by rail or road, then loading them onto another vessel for a second foreign destination. A box arriving on the U.S. west coast, railed east, and reshipped to Europe is the classic case.
Why it matters. A landbridge can beat an all-water routing on transit time when a canal is congested or capacity is tight. It adds two handovers, so it trades reliability for speed.
The full cost of getting a shipment to a named place: the goods themselves plus transport, and in practice also duty, taxes, insurance, handling, and brokerage.
Why it matters. Unit price tells you almost nothing about whether a sourcing decision works. Duty rate, density, and lead time can easily swing landed cost more than the price difference you moved for.
Tariff Refund Calculator →A quotation stating the price of goods delivered to a specified place, covering the goods and the cost of getting them there. It is a commercial usage rather than an Incoterms rule, so the parties must still say who clears the goods and who pays duty.
Incoterms Guide →A fee levied on every aircraft that lands, helping to cover the cost of building and running the airport.
The U.S. federal statute governing trademarks and other identifying marks used on goods in interstate commerce. It lets a manufacturer protect a brand by registering it, and provides for registration of any distinctive mark.
Why it matters. Registration is what makes customs recording possible, and recording is what gets counterfeits stopped at the border. Unregistered marks get very little help from customs.
Cancellation of a policy because the renewal premium was not paid.
A large ship fitted with a deck crane that loads and discharges floating lighters over its stern. It suits shallow ports and places without container facilities, and generally carries break bulk.
Rope, cable, straps, or other tie-downs securing cargo to its conveyance so it cannot shift in transit. A container may be lashed across the middle or at each top corner.
Why it matters. Inadequate securing is treated as insufficient packing, which is a standard cargo insurance exclusion. Photographing the lashing before the doors close is cheap evidence.
The final leg from a transport hub to the destination, whether a parcel moving from a terminal to a home or business or a passenger travelling on from an airport.
Why it matters. The last mile is the most expensive part of e-commerce fulfilment per unit and the part customers judge you on. It is also where returns originate.
The earlier regional grouping aimed at building a Latin American free trade area, superseded by the integration association that replaced it.
The regional body that succeeded the earlier free trade association, providing a framework for preferential agreements among Latin American member countries rather than a single bloc-wide tariff.
The period during which imported goods may remain at the place of unloading without anything being done about them, running beyond the general order deadline.
The stock needed to cover demand across the time it takes to obtain a fresh delivery from the supplier.
The underwriter that sets the rate and the terms on a shared risk and takes the largest share of it, with others following.
The regional body founded in 1945 to strengthen ties among Arab states, headquartered in Cairo.
A contract giving one party the use of an asset for a defined period at an agreed rate, whether property, vehicles, or equipment.
A temporary right to occupy land under a lease, with the property reverting to the owner when the term ends.
The group of the world's poorest countries identified by the United Nations as the least developed among developing nations. Most are small in area or population and many are landlocked or remote from major markets.
Responsibility that the law places on a person or organization.
Any entity the law endows with rights and obligations, covering both natural persons and organizations such as companies.
Money the law recognizes for settling a debt, which a creditor must accept in discharge unless the contract specifies another form of payment.
An implied warranty in every insurance contract that what the policyholder is engaged in is lawful. A loss flowing from an unlawful undertaking is simply not covered.
Why it matters. This is why sanctions breaches void cargo cover, and why a shipment to a prohibited destination is uninsured whatever the policy says. Screening is an insurance issue as well as a legal one.
A central bank function of supplying liquidity to the banking system when its own liquid assets threaten to run out.
A consignment too small to fill a container on its own, combined with cargo from other shippers or destined for other consignees. Packing and separation happen at a container freight station.
Why it matters. LCL lets importers buy in smaller, more frequent lots instead of tying up cash in a full container. The tradeoff is extra handling at both ends and a longer door-to-door time, since the box only sails once full and must be stripped on arrival.
Cubeship LCL Consolidation →A consignment too small to qualify for a full truckload rate, moved with other shippers' freight through a hub network.
A United Nations classification created to guide donors on allocating assistance fairly. The criteria, first adopted in 1971 and revised since, have covered low income per head, low literacy, and a small manufacturing share of national output.
A bank's undertaking to pay a seller once documents complying with the credit's terms are presented. The bank's obligation is independent of the sale contract and attaches to the documents, not to the goods themselves.
Why it matters. A credit protects you only to the extent the documents can actually be produced as written, so read it the day it arrives and get amendments before shipping. Most non-payments under credits are discrepancy disputes, not refusals to pay.
An undertaking protecting a carrier or shipowner financially where it releases goods without an original bill of lading being surrendered. It is used when cargo arrives before the documents do, letting the buyer take delivery immediately.
Why it matters. An LOI shifts the whole risk of a wrongful release onto whoever gives it, and banks usually require it to be countersigned. Treat it as a last resort, not a routine workaround for slow documents.
A written memorandum recording the preliminary understanding between parties who mean to contract or to combine in some other way, such as a joint venture or a merger.
The currency of Romania and, as the leu moldovenesc, of Moldova, each divided into 100 subunits.
The rule applying the law of the place where the act in question occurred. A court may reach for it where the parties never chose a governing law and more than one legal system could apply.
The rule applying the law of wherever the contract falls to be performed or the money is due, used where the parties named no governing law and more than one system could apply.
Everything a person or business owes, including trade payables, bank and other borrowings, lease and rental commitments, pension and healthcare obligations, mortgages, judgments, and drawn credit lines.
In trade policy, relatively free of import controls, or favoring the reduction of existing barriers, as against a protectionist preference for keeping or raising them.
The London interbank bid rate, the rate at which banks were willing to take deposits from one another, the counterpart to the offered rate.
The London interbank offered rate, long the benchmark for pricing loans and derivatives, now discontinued and replaced by alternative reference rates.
A document giving its holder the right to do something, such as translate a book into another language, manufacture a pharmaceutical locally, or use a brand and logo in a defined market.
The party that takes a licence, typically over intellectual property rights such as translation, local manufacturing, or use of a brand in a given market.
A contract by which the owner of a trademark, patent, or copyright grants another firm a limited right to use a process, make or sell an article, or provide services covered by that right.
Why it matters. Royalties paid as a condition of sale can be dutiable, which surprises importers who treat licensing and importing as separate matters. Check how the royalty is structured before the first entry.
The party granting a licence, being the owner of or rights holder in the intellectual property concerned.
Setting prices so that costs are recovered across the whole life of a product rather than within a single period.
Loading and discharging cargo by crane, as opposed to driving it on and off.
A wooden or metal case used to pack household goods and personal effects, sized and built so it can be handled mechanically.
An open or covered barge, usually towed, used in harbours and inland waterways to move cargo where shallow water keeps the ocean vessel off the berth.
A large floatable container carried aboard a specially built ship, used to combine ocean carriage with inland waterway delivery without rehandling the cargo.
Working a ship by means of lighters, and the charge made for that service.
The Brazilian and Portuguese designation for a private limited company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
A contract or statutory provision capping what a carrier or service provider must pay for loss or damage, typically at a fixed amount per package or per kilogram unless a higher value was declared.
Why it matters. Carrier caps sit far below the value of most cargo, so a total loss recovers a fraction of the invoice. Cargo insurance, not the transport contract, is what actually makes you whole.
The maximum time a statute allows for bringing a legal action or enforcing a right, after which the claim is barred.
Why it matters. Cargo claim deadlines are far shorter than general contract limitation periods, often a year from delivery under the carriage conventions. Missing it ends the claim regardless of merit.
The statutory and conventional caps on what a carrier must pay for lost or damaged cargo, generally expressed per package. Carriers have repeatedly argued the package up in size, from an individual carton to a pallet and then to a whole container, which reduces recovery dramatically.
Why it matters. A container of high-value goods can be worth far more than the carrier will ever pay for it. Cargo insurance, not the bill of lading, is what closes that gap.
Bill of Lading Terms →The British designation for a private company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
A non-career posting to a foreign service, drawn from the private sector or elsewhere in government, made for a fixed term.
Responsibility for a business's obligations capped at a defined amount, typically what a shareholder or partner contributed to its capital.
A partnership with at least one partner carrying general liability and at least one whose liability is limited.
The Canadian French designation for a company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
A company operating ships that carry other firms' freight between ports on a commercial service.
The main movement of freight between two major points on a single conveyance, as distinct from the collection and delivery legs at either end.
A ship working a regular published schedule on a defined route, as opposed to a feeder or a tramp.
A U.S. customs facility for releasing and tracking repetitive shipments using barcodes read against invoice data. Qualifying commodities need a record of invoice accuracy and sufficient volume to be selected.
A vessel working a published schedule on a fixed route, carrying cargo and sometimes passengers, as distinct from a tramp taking work as it comes.
A carriage term under which the carrier pays for loading and the sea passage while the shipper covers discharge.
The standard conditions on which a line carries goods by sea, including which loading and discharge costs the quoted rate covers.
Customs' final review of an entry, fixing the duty rate and the amount owed. It takes effect when notice is posted publicly, and an importer may receive an advance courtesy notice of the date and amount, though that notice is not the liquidation itself and protest rights only run from the posting.
Why it matters. Liquidation is the point at which duty becomes final, and it is also the start of the clock for protesting. An entry that liquidates unnoticed at the wrong rate is money you generally cannot get back.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The customs module that closes the file on each entry and assigns a batch filing number so the entry can be retrieved for review or enforcement. Statute requires liquidation within a year of the consumption entry or the final warehouse withdrawal, subject to extensions.
A company's capacity to meet obligations as they fall due, the stock of liquid funds circulating in an economy, and the ability to transact without moving the market.
The former currency of Lithuania, replaced by the euro.
A road trailer built to carry cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and similar animals, often with multiple decks. It is not used for horses or poultry, which need purpose-built equipment.
A worldwide network of agents and sub-agents, first appointed in the early nineteenth century to report shipping movements and casualties. Their main work now is conducting and arranging surveys of ships and cargo for insurers and commercial interests.
Why it matters. When cargo arrives damaged, the survey is what turns an assertion into a claim. Appointing a surveyor before the goods are moved or repacked is the step people skip.
A market rather than a single insurer, made up of syndicates that each specialize in particular risks, from vessels and liability to industrial facilities, buildings, catastrophe exposures, reinsurance, and retrocession.
Markings painted on a vessel's hull showing how deep she may legally be loaded in different waters and seasons.
Physically placing cargo into a carrier's container or aboard a vessel.
An administrative or commercial document that may stand in for the standard transit addendum where more than one item moves under a single transit declaration.
Adapting products, services, media, or advertising for a particular market: changing specifications, adding locally relevant content, removing what is inappropriate, screening for cultural problems, and translating manuals and materials.
Why it matters. Localization often changes the product itself, which can change its tariff classification and its regulatory requirements. Treat a market-specific variant as a new compliance question, not a labelling exercise.
A place. The locus of arbitration is where the proceedings are held.
Planning, executing, and controlling the movement of people, materials, and information from origin to destination, on time and in the condition required.
Electronic exchange of logistics data between computer systems, closely related to general electronic data interchange.
Supply chain execution software giving visibility and control across transportation together with import and export processes, aimed at cutting cost and tightening trade compliance.
The rate charged on loans secured against readily saleable movable collateral such as goods or securities, historically set by the German central bank a little above its discount rate.
A 1975 agreement between the European Community and a large group of African, Caribbean, and Pacific states, mostly former colonies of member countries, providing aid alongside trade and tariff preferences for their exports into Europe. It grew out of the association arrangements established under the Treaty of Rome.
The community of insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and support firms in London that underwrites large, complex, and specialist risks worldwide. It divides into the Lloyd's market, where members form syndicates rather than a single company underwriting, and the company market of major insurers and reinsurers alongside it.
Why it matters. Unusual cargo, war and political risk, and very high values are placed here when domestic markets will not take them. Access is through a broker rather than direct.
The bid side of the London interbank quotation, being the rate at which dollar deposits were taken in that market. It has been retired along with the offered rate in favor of newer reference rates.
The midpoint between the London interbank offered and bid rates, the offered side being where funds were sold and the bid side where they were taken. It is obsolete along with both underlying rates.
The rate at which London banks were prepared to lend to first-class counterparts, long used to set the interest on Eurocredits and a vast range of contracts. It has been discontinued and replaced by alternative reference rates.
Why it matters. Older trade finance facilities still reference it, and those contracts need a fallback provision. Check what your facility converts to before a rate reset finds the gap.
A term covering London's role as a global centre of finance and, more narrowly, its insurance market. In the financial sense it means the concentration of banks and financial services based there; in the insurance sense it means the community of insurers, reinsurers, and brokers handling large and specialist risks from around the world.
One of the leading global markets for base and other metals, providing futures and options contracts through which participants trade and hedge. Its principal functions are establishing transparent reference prices and giving industry a way to manage price risk.
Why it matters. If you buy metal-intensive goods, the exchange price is the input your supplier is exposed to. Watching it explains price increase requests before they arrive.
A body of London shipbroking firms that independently assesses what compensation is due on a voyage, a contract, or a demurrage claim, working from historical market data for a fee. It also sets the terms of reference for the tanker rate assessment and publishes it.
A document carrying its terms and conditions printed on the reverse. A long form bill of lading sets out the conditions of carriage in full, which is generally preferred in international transactions.
The position of a currency trader holding more foreign bills than it has sold and left outstanding of its own.
A weight measure of 2,240 pounds, as against the short ton of 2,000 pounds and the metric ton of 1,000 kilograms.
Angular distance east or west of the prime meridian, expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
A dock worker who loads and discharges vessels at a seaport.
A fall in the quantity, the quality, or the worth of insured property. Cargo losses arise from theft and pilferage, piracy, wrongdoing by the master or crew, jettison, a vessel sinking, boxes going overboard in heavy weather or through poor stowage, and damage during loading, shifting in transit, or discharge.
A total loss where goods arrive so degraded that they are no longer the commodity insured, as with cement delivered as solid rock or fabric delivered as rags.
Labels attached to every piece in a multi-piece consignment so the pieces can be identified and kept together.
The currency of Lesotho, divided into 100 lisente, with maloti as the plural form.
A Canadian program streamlining customs processing of low-value consignments and giving the courier sector expedited release, subject to a value ceiling and approval of the carrier.
A lower cargo compartment of an aircraft or ship, in aviation the belly hold beneath the passenger cabin.
Carrier-owned unit load devices shaped to fit the belly compartments of a wide-body aircraft.
The mistaken belief that a fixed number of jobs exists, so a growing population must mean rising unemployment. It resurfaces in proposals to cut the working week as a cure for joblessness.
A laborer who helps a driver load or unload a truck, most commonly in the food and produce trades.
Paid assistance given to a driver in loading or unloading, common in food and produce distribution. Payment comes either from the operator of the terminal or from the driver personally.
The Canadian low value shipment stream, which speeds release of commercial imports below a set value threshold for approved carriers.
96 terms in this group.
The treaty signed at Maastricht in February 1992 that renamed the European Community as the European Union and opened the way to deeper integration. Its central aims included monetary union and the replacement of national currencies with a single one, alongside common foreign, security, and justice cooperation.
A branch of artificial intelligence in which systems learn from data, find patterns, and make decisions with little human direction, improving as they process more examples.
The study of an economy as a whole through aggregate measures such as total consumption and total employment, rather than the behavior of individual units.
The principle that a settlement should put the insured back in the financial position it held before the loss. For cargo that means insuring every element of the shipment cost: invoice value, packing, inland and ocean freight, forwarder charges, consular fees, and the premium itself.
Why it matters. Insuring only the invoice value leaves you short by every cost you incurred getting the goods to where they were lost. That is why cargo policies are conventionally written at cost plus freight plus ten percent.
A route for entering unaccompanied goods sent by post, offering simplified handling where the shipment value stays under a set threshold.
The principal leg of a journey, usually the longest and normally international, most often by sea or air but also by road, rail, or inland waterway.
Why it matters. The Incoterms rules divide along this line: some put main carriage on the seller, others on the buyer. Knowing which side of it your rule sits on tells you who books the vessel.
Incoterms Guide →A unit load device built for the main payload deck of an aircraft rather than the belly, identified by particular code prefixes.
In bad faith. A seller representing goods as fit for a purpose it knows they cannot serve acts mala fide.
The currency of Azerbaijan and, separately, of Turkmenistan, each divided into 100 subunits.
The document listing everything a vessel, aircraft, truck, or railcar is carrying, consignment by consignment. Carriers file it with customs in advance, separately from the importer's entry.
Why it matters. Manifest and entry are two different filings by two different parties, and a manifest error will hold your freight even when your entry is perfect. Establish which one failed before chasing the wrong party.
A Japanese non-profit body created in 1978 jointly by government and the private sector to encourage imports of foreign manufactured goods, through trade exhibitions for buyers and the public and by publishing information on imported products and the Japanese market.
A planning method extending materials requirements planning across the whole manufacturing operation, covering capacity, scheduling, and financial planning as well as materials. Enterprise resource planning succeeded it.
The short form of maquiladora, a Mexican assembly or manufacturing plant importing inputs duty-free for re-export.
A Mexican manufacturing or assembly plant that brings in raw materials, components, and support equipment free of duty and licensing on the basis that the output is exported, historically much of it to the United States. Such plants cluster along the northern border and enjoy exemptions from some rules that otherwise apply to foreign companies.
Why it matters. Duty-free admission of inputs does not settle the origin of the finished good. Whether it qualifies for USMCA preference depends on the rule of origin for that tariff line, not on the plant's status.
Cubeship Mexico →The addition to total production cost from making one more unit, excluding overhead, design, and management costs. Pricing off this figure rather than fully loaded cost is called marginal cost pricing.
Cover against loss of or damage to goods in transit, chiefly at sea. It compensates the cargo owner for losses beyond what can be recovered from the carrier, arising from fire, shipwreck, piracy, and a range of other causes.
Why it matters. Carrier liability is capped by convention and is not insurance; it often pays a fraction of what the goods are worth. Buying cargo cover separately is normally cheaper than declaring value to the carrier and pays far more.
An extension that widens warehouse to warehouse cover by removing both the requirement that ordinary transit be maintained and the fixed time limit at destination, and by continuing cover where circumstances force discharge at a port other than the intended one.
Why it matters. This clause is what keeps cover alive when a shipment is diverted, delayed, or held beyond the standard window. Without it, a disruption can end cover before the goods reach you.
The branch of insurance covering ships, their hulls and machinery, the cargo they carry, and associated liabilities.
The events that can cause a loss at sea. Traditional practice recognizes twelve, including perils of the sea, fire, jettison, barratry, enemies, assailing thieves, explosion, and a residual category for others. No single policy covers all of them.
The marine version of Canada's pre-arrival review system, allowing release data to be submitted and assessed before the vessel arrives.
Cover for the insured's legal liability arising from owning, operating, chartering, maintaining, using, repairing, or building a vessel or waterway craft, extending to personal injury and death and to damage to other people's property.
Short form for the marine pre-arrival review system in Canadian customs release processing.
Relating to commerce and navigation at sea and in seaports, and to the matters falling within admiralty jurisdiction.
The interaction of supply and demand that sets price and quantity, and more broadly the decentralized process by which buyers and sellers allocate resources in response to freely set prices.
How open a national market is to foreign goods, reflecting how far a government allows imports to compete on comparable terms with domestic products.
A U.S. agricultural program under which government resources partly reimburse trade organizations that run overseas development work for qualifying products in named markets.
A surge of imports in one product area that drives down domestic sales enough to cause serious hardship to local producers and their workforce. In technology the phrase instead describes a new offering that creates a market and displaces the established one.
A system in which market forces rather than government direction determine what is produced and how resources are allocated.
Why it matters. Whether a country is treated as a market economy changes how dumping margins are calculated against its producers. Non-market economy treatment usually produces much higher duties.
Systematic study of a target market to judge how receptive it is to a product or service, taking in the economic, social, and political environment, consumer demographics, and the competitors already active there.
A U.S. and Japanese arrangement aimed at building longer-term commercial relationships between Japanese vehicle manufacturers and American parts suppliers.
Bilateral U.S. and Japanese talks begun in 1985 that tackled trade barriers sector by sector rather than one at a time, covering telecommunications, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, electronics, forest products, and auto parts.
The physical marking on a product showing where it was made. U.S. rules require each imported article to be marked conspicuously, legibly, indelibly, and as permanently as its nature allows, naming the country of origin in English so the ultimate purchaser can see where it was produced.
Why it matters. Marking violations draw a additional duty and, worse, can require the goods to be re-marked under customs supervision before release. It is cheaper to get it right at the factory.
Cubeship Customs Support →The former currency of Finland, replaced by the euro.
Information applied to the outside of packages and containers, such as addresses, identifying numbers, specifications, and handling or directional warnings.
Markings on goods showing the country they came from. Naming the country is usually enough, but international and national rules govern how the marking must appear, and most customs authorities require imported goods to carry it.
The amount added to cost to arrive at a selling price, expressed as an amount or a percentage.
The air waybill covering a consolidated shipment, naming the consolidator as shipper, under which individual house waybills sit.
A statement the master draws up on arrival recording unusual conditions met during the voyage, intended to shield the owner from liability for resulting cargo loss.
A bond issued in the Spanish market denominated in a currency other than the domestic one.
U.S. trade delegations arranged to introduce firms new to exporting or new to a market to pre-screened prospects abroad, typically covering two markets in a trip of a week or less so participants can meet as many potential partners as possible.
A declaration by a ship's officer, for the carrier, that stated goods have been received aboard. It is not a document of title and serves as an interim record until the bill of lading is issued.
The terms essential to an agreement, such as the clauses describing the goods, setting the price, and fixing the delivery date.
Any fact capable of influencing a prudent underwriter's decision whether to take a risk and at what premium. Under the duty of utmost good faith, an applicant must disclose all material facts it knows or ought to know.
Why it matters. Failing to disclose can void the policy even where the undisclosed fact had nothing to do with the loss. Tell the underwriter about unusual routings, storage, or values before the risk attaches.
A document from the supplier or manufacturer of a potentially hazardous product setting out its hazardous ingredients, correct handling, first aid, and emergency response and reporting procedures, for the benefit of workers and users. The current international term is safety data sheet.
Why it matters. The data sheet is where the UN number, hazard class, and packing group come from, and every downstream decision about packing, labelling, and mode depends on them. Get it before booking, not after.
The heaviest cargo weight a given vehicle, container, or aircraft may lawfully carry.
Cargo rated on the space it occupies rather than on its weight.
A volumetric unit used for rating freight, conventionally 40 cubic feet or one cubic meter, with the cargo charged per unit of space it takes up. Also called a cargo or freight ton.
Dimensions Calculator →A dispute resolution process outside the courts in which a neutral mediator helps the parties negotiate their own settlement. It is usually non-binding, unlike arbitration, which normally produces a binding award.
A duplicate copy of a bill of lading, issued for reference rather than as an original.
An informal record serving as the basis for a later contract. Between governments it can instead be a detailed instrument functioning as an agreement in areas such as aviation and fisheries.
A publication carrying rules and rates extracted from a carrier's official tariff, issued as a convenience and available on request.
The sixteenth and seventeenth century doctrine equating national wealth with accumulated gold and other international monetary assets. Modern economists largely reject it, though policies aimed at running trade surpluses through import substitution and tariffs still echo it.
A U.S. user fee charged on imports, calculated as a percentage of value on formal entries subject to a minimum and a maximum per entry, with flat amounts applying to informal entries depending on how they are filed.
Why it matters. Because the fee is capped per entry, consolidating several shipments into one entry can cut it materially on high-value cargo. Goods qualifying under some trade agreements are exempt entirely.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The difference between the value of goods a country exports and the value it imports, the visible portion of its trade account.
A person or business in wholesale trade, buying goods produced by others and reselling them at a profit.
British usage for an institution that underwrites securities for companies, advises on mergers, and takes ownership positions in commercial ventures.
A country's fleet of privately owned commercial vessels together with the crews that operate them, carrying trade in peacetime and supporting the navy in wartime.
A credit issued by the buyer itself rather than by a bank, carrying no banking undertaking behind it.
Why it matters. Despite the name, this is a promise from your customer, not from a bank. It gives none of the protection a documentary credit does.
An inland move to or from the port arranged by the cargo interest itself rather than by the carrier.
Why it matters. Merchant haulage gives you control of the dray and the timing, which matters when free time is tight. Carrier haulage bundles the cost but leaves scheduling with the line.
The Southern Common Market, bringing together Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, in force from the mid-1990s. Modelled loosely on the European approach, it works toward a common external tariff and the removal of barriers to trade in services.
Money circulating through several channels and returning to where it began, as when a central bank sells currency under repurchase agreement, the banks place it offshore, and the central bank must buy it back to prevent an unwanted expansion of domestic money.
The metric unit of length, equal to about 39.37 inches.
A weight measure of 1,000 kilograms, roughly 2,204.6 pounds, as against the long ton of 2,240 pounds and the short ton of 2,000.
A landbridge movement in which cargo starting from or bound for a point inland is carried by rail or road to the water port for the international leg, with the carrier answerable for the goods and the cost across the whole journey.
Very small loans extended to entrepreneurs who lack collateral, steady employment, or a credit record and are therefore refused by conventional banks. The approach is old, but it drew wide attention through the growth of village banking models.
The study of how individual units in an economy behave, such as households and firms, as opposed to aggregate measures.
A scheduled point in a project marking the completion of a phase of work or a handover between parties.
A bill of lading carrying a clause fixing the smallest charge the carrier will make for issuing it, whether a set sum or the going rate for a stated quantity.
The lowest rate applying to a service however small the consignment.
Why it matters. Below a certain size, freight stops being priced by weight or volume at all. That is why splitting an order into small frequent shipments often costs more in total than one larger one.
The Chinese ministry implementing national trade policy through administrative measures, drafting legislation, and issuing foreign trade regulation. It does not trade itself but oversees the corporations that do.
The Japanese ministry at the centre of the country's economic administration, ranked alongside finance and foreign affairs in influence. It shapes trade and industrial policy and funds most export promotion, leaving delivery of those programs to the trade promotion organization.
The former name of China's foreign trade ministry, whose functions now sit with the Ministry of Commerce.
Any operation, dataset, or system a project cannot function without, where interruption or compromise causes the whole endeavor to fail.
The duty on a party suffering a breach to take reasonable steps to limit its loss rather than let it grow. A seller left with perishable goods after a buyer fails to pay should try to resell them before they spoil, and may then claim the shortfall.
Why it matters. You cannot sit on damaged or refused cargo and bill the loss to the other side. Documenting your attempts to resell or salvage is what preserves the claim.
Combining concessional funding with market-rate export credit as a way of promoting exports.
A consignment carrying commodities that are regulated alongside others that are exempt, all riding in one vehicle on the same trip.
How an organization's freight divides across transport modes, measured by shipment count, ton-miles, cost, or revenue.
Why it matters. Tracking spend by mode is the fastest way to see whether air freight is being used as a planning tool or as a firefighting one. A creeping air share usually signals an upstream problem.
The EU regulations setting the general rules and procedures for goods entering or leaving the customs territory, aimed at easing trade by simplifying and computerizing procedures and making member states' systems interoperable while keeping security at the external border.
The main ways goods move internationally: water, rail, air, and road. Pipeline and cable carry particular commodities and energy.
Rights of attribution and of integrity that some legal systems grant creators of written, dramatic, musical, and artistic work, and to film directors.
A commitment by one country to give another the lowest duty rates it grants to any trading partner. WTO members undertake this toward one another, so a tariff cut agreed with one country automatically extends to the same goods from all the rest.
Why it matters. MFN is the baseline rate, not a favor. Anything better comes from a trade agreement or preference program, and anything worse means the goods fall outside normal trade relations.
A ship that works cargo to and from feeder vessels or lighters without entering port or berthing, typically because her draft exceeds the depth of the channel or the port itself.
The facility where a road carrier receives and delivers loaded or empty containers and keeps its pool of equipment.
Any vehicle, tractor, trailer, or semi-trailer moved by mechanical power and used on the highway to carry passengers or goods.
The unique eighteen-character reference the EU transit system assigns automatically to every transit declaration, encoding the year, the originating member state, and a unique sequence.
A planning method that works backwards from the finished goods production plan to determine which raw materials and components will be needed and when, covering their collection, stocking, and distribution through manufacturing. Its focus is materials and inventory rather than people and equipment.
The extension of materials planning across the whole manufacturing operation, taking in scheduling and production planning, control of the shop floor, financial management, forecasting, order handling, and performance measurement.
The international framework that let importing countries apply quantitative limits on textile and apparel imports where they judged it necessary to prevent market disruption, aiming at orderly marketing. It has since been phased out, leaving textiles under normal trade rules.
A loan provision allowing more than one currency to be used in servicing or repaying the facility.
A fund working alongside the Inter-American Development Bank that makes grants supporting market-oriented investment policy reform and encourages domestic and foreign investment across Latin America and the Caribbean.
A World Bank Group member that encourages equity and other direct investment into developing countries by reducing non-commercial barriers. It guarantees investors against political risk, advises governments on investment policy, and convenes dialogue between international business and host countries.
The successive negotiating rounds held under the postwar trade framework and its successor organization since 1947. Each round was a long series of interlocking bargaining sessions among participating countries aimed at mutually beneficial reductions in trade barriers.
Using more than one mode of transport to move goods from origin to final destination.
A company with supply or sales operations in more than one country.
A reduced rate applying to a bulk consignment large enough to require several trailers or railcars.
With the necessary changes made. A rule written for one situation may be applied to another that differs only in detail, adjusting for those details as you go.
80 terms in this group.
The Belgian and Dutch designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, replaced in 2020 by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Why it matters. Claims made under the old agreement do not carry over automatically. Origin rules changed materially for vehicles and parts, so re-qualify products rather than assuming continuity.
A popular name for the network of existing and proposed highways forming a north-south corridor linking Canada, the United States, and Mexico, including several interstate routes and the CANAMEX corridor.
The person, firm, or company specifically identified as insured in a policy, as distinct from others who may be protected under it in certain circumstances without being named.
Risks added to cargo cover beyond the perils of the sea, typically theft, pilferage, non-delivery, fresh water and sweat damage, breakage, and leakage.
A cargo policy responding only to the risks it specifically lists, as opposed to an all risks form that covers any external cause except what it excludes.
Why it matters. Under a named perils form the burden is on you to prove the loss came from a listed peril. Under all risks the insurer must prove an exclusion applies, which is a materially better position.
A U.S. non-profit founded in 1965 as an information source, clearinghouse, and advocate for exporters and those servicing them, offering networking, counselling, publications, and seminars.
The U.S. program for automated electronic processing of commercial imports, the first functionality delivered through the modernized customs environment.
A written statement from Canadian customs to an importer or its agent explaining how existing legislation will be applied to the import of a specific commodity.
The U.S. classification schedule for less than truckload freight, sorting products into a series of classes that provide a standard basis for pricing domestic shipments.
Why it matters. Freight class turns mainly on density, and reclassification disputes are a common source of unexpected invoices. Measure and weigh the pallet as it actually ships, not as the spec sheet describes it.
Dimensions Calculator →Restrictions on exporting goods and technology that would add significantly to another country's military capability and so damage national security.
The U.S. directive governing export licensing, which fixes the time allowed to settle disagreements arising on national security grounds and on foreign policy grounds alike, escalating first to the interagency advisory committee and then to the cabinet-level review board.
Presidentially signed instruments giving policy or procedural guidance. A 1989 reorganization created national security council committees covering multilateral export controls, terrorism, and non-proliferation among other subjects. Earlier versions carried a different name.
A U.S. body founded in 1985 providing information and security awareness services to defense contractors, government, and industrial security managers, principally helping them interpret and implement government security directives and protect classified and proprietary information.
A U.S. determination keeping a control in place despite a finding that the item is available from foreign sources, on the ground that it remains sensitive for national security. The phrase has also been used more loosely in other contexts.
A U.S. government compilation of international trade and economic data, whose statistical functions have since moved to successor online services.
An annual U.S. report identifying significant foreign barriers to trade and the distortions they create.
The obligation to treat imported goods no less favorably than domestically produced equivalents once they have entered the market, covering internal taxes and regulation.
Why it matters. National treatment is why a country cannot solve a competitiveness problem with discriminatory internal taxes after the goods have cleared. It sits alongside most favored nation as the other pillar of non-discrimination.
A state taking private property, whether real estate, a business, or a whole industry, with or without compensation. Social or economic equality is the usual stated motive, and it appears both in centrally planned economies and where resentment of foreign control of major industries runs high.
The theory that a country holds an edge in producing certain goods because of its natural resources, transport position, or climate.
A non-disclosure agreement, under which parties undertake not to reveal confidential information shared between them.
A Canadian term for a deposit-taking institution that is not a commercial bank, such as a savings bank or credit union.
Moving a process or production plant to a lower-cost country that is geographically close to the contracting company.
Why it matters. Nearshoring trades unit cost for lead time, inventory, and responsiveness, and it changes the trade agreement picture entirely. A move from Asia to Mexico can turn dutiable goods into duty-free ones if the origin rules are met.
Cubeship Mexico →Contracting a business function to a third party located close by within the same country, the domestic counterpart of nearshoring.
Failing to do what an ordinarily prudent person would do, or doing what such a person would not, judged against the circumstances and what the parties knew.
Capable of being sold on or handed to another party for value or in settlement of what is owed. In trade the word usually describes a document of title, the negotiable bill of lading being the obvious case; in securities it means title passes by delivery.
A bill of lading that passes by endorsement and delivery because it is drawn to order or to bearer. Made out to the order of a named party, or simply to order, it stays at the shipper’s disposal until endorsed. A bill naming a consignee with no words of order is a straight bill and is not negotiable.
Why it matters. Whoever lawfully holds the endorsed original controls the cargo, which is exactly why it works as security under a letter of credit. It is also why losing the set is so serious.
A certificate from an approved warehouse confirming that a stated commodity of stated grade is in store, transferable so that the goods can be traded without moving them.
Under a letter of credit, the bank that examines the seller's documents against the credit's terms, gives value to the seller where they conform, and forwards them to the issuing bank. Depending on the credit type it pays or credits the seller immediately.
Circulating a negotiable instrument from one holder to another, and under a letter of credit the examination of documents by the authorized bank together with the giving of value for the drafts or documents. Examining without giving value is not negotiation.
A documentary credit available by negotiation, meaning a nominated or any bank may give value against conforming documents.
Not elsewhere specified, a tariff notation meaning the stated rate covers everything in a commodity group except items that carry their own separate rate.
Packed one inside another so the items occupy less space, as with stacked buckets or bowls.
Why it matters. Nesting raises density, which is what freight is actually priced on for bulky goods. It is one of the cheapest ways to cut LCL and LTL cost.
Payment due within a short period with no discount taken off the invoice price.
The amount by which a country's exports of goods and services exceed its imports, counting output sold abroad and earnings on domestically owned resources overseas against purchases of foreign output and payments on foreign-owned resources at home.
The net change in a country's foreign assets and liabilities, including monetary gold, arising from trade, investment income, and transfers. It measures exports over imports, investment income received over investment income paid, and transfers out over transfers in.
What remains of earnings once all costs, expenses, depreciation, and provisions for likely losses have been taken off.
The amount by which expenses and losses in a period exceed the revenues and gains of that period.
Gross national product less capital consumption, meaning the market value of the economy's net output after allowing for depreciation.
A weight measure of 2,000 pounds, also called the short ton.
A vessel's gross tonnage less the space taken by crew accommodation, navigation machinery, the engine room, and fuel, leaving the volume actually available for passengers and cargo.
The weight of the goods alone, excluding packaging and the shipping container.
A blank air waybill carrying no issuing carrier's identification, completed by a forwarder or agent when the carrier is assigned.
A self-policing entity set up by the members of a shipping conference to detect malpractice and tariff breaches, with wide authority to inspect carriers' records and premises and to report violations to the membership.
A UK government program to modernize customs procedure for international trade, aimed at raising compliance while easing the process for traders that follow the rules. It parallels facilitation and security initiatives elsewhere.
The EU electronic system through which transit declarations are lodged, with each member state's installation linked through a central hub so movements can be tracked across borders.
The vessel size class defined by the enlarged Panama Canal locks, materially larger than the original Panamax dimensions and now a standard reference for transpacific and transatlantic services.
The 1958 United Nations convention on recognizing and enforcing foreign arbitral awards, and on courts referring parties to arbitration. It is the central instrument making international arbitration work in practice.
Why it matters. This is why cross-border contracts choose arbitration over courts: an award is enforceable in most trading countries, whereas a foreign court judgment often is not.
A U.S. measure of trade promotion success, counting a company's first verifiable export sale following documented assistance where it has not exported for a defined period or where earlier exports came only through unsolicited orders or a domestic intermediary.
A U.S. measure counting a verifiable sale into a new foreign market following documented assistance, where the company has not sold into that market for a defined period or did so only through unsolicited orders or a domestic intermediary.
Relatively advanced developing economies whose industrial output and exports have grown quickly, a category originally coined by the OECD.
A connection with or presence in a place substantial enough to make it fair for the courts or government there to exercise authority over the party.
Why it matters. Nexus decides whether a foreign seller owes sales tax or import obligations in a market. Holding stock in a warehouse there is usually enough to create it.
Cargo booked onto a vessel that does not physically arrive in time to be loaded.
Why it matters. Carriers increasingly charge no-show fees and count the booking against your allocation. On tight lanes, an unused booking costs you both money and future space.
A third party logistics provider that owns no warehouses, vessels, aircraft, or vehicles, buying and managing those services instead.
Why it matters. An asset-light provider is free to route you on whoever performs best, but has no capacity of its own to fall back on when the market tightens. Which model suits depends on whether you value flexibility or guaranteed space.
A loss in which a whole package or a whole consignment is missing at destination with no evidence of how it disappeared. It is distinct from pilferage, where part of the contents is taken.
An agreement not to reveal trade secrets, business practices, plans, or other confidential material, commonly signed before parties enter negotiations or a relationship in which such information will be shared.
A private, non-profit body independent of government, active in areas such as development, labor standards, and environmental monitoring.
An economy where the state largely directs activity through central planning rather than leaving resource allocation to market forces, with production targets, prices, costs, investment, inputs, labor, and trade all administered.
Why it matters. Non-market economy treatment changes how dumping margins are calculated, since domestic prices are not accepted as a benchmark. Surrogate country values are used instead, and the resulting duties are usually far higher.
Not transferable from one party to another. A non-negotiable transport document, such as a sea waybill, air waybill, or forwarder's receipt, does not entitle its holder to the goods simply by possession.
Any government measure other than a tariff that restricts imports: quotas, licensing, standards and testing requirements, customs procedures, subsidies, and government procurement rules.
Why it matters. These rarely show up in a landed cost model because they are not a line item, yet they are what actually holds goods at the border. Confirm certifications and labelling before you ship.
Measures other than duties that deny or complicate market access for foreign goods and services: quotas and other quantitative limits, discretionary licensing, surcharges and fees, burdensome customs procedures, export subsidies, unreasonable standards or conformity procedures, procurement restrictions, weak intellectual property protection, and investment limits.
Why it matters. Non-tariff measures now cost more than tariffs on many products, and they are harder to plan around because they show up as testing, certification, and paperwork. Budget time for them, not just money.
A carrier that issues its own bills of lading for goods moving on vessels it neither owns nor operates. It buys space in volume from the lines at discounted rates and resells it in smaller lots, frequently consolidating several shippers' cargo under a single bill.
Why it matters. An NVOCC gives smaller importers access to rates and consolidation they could not get direct. It also means your contract is with the NVOCC, so its house bill, not the carrier's master, governs your cargo.
Cubeship Services →Assets producing no financial return, such as loans on which interest has stopped being paid.
Debt yielding no return, with no interest being paid on it.
A loan on which an interest payment has been outstanding beyond a set period, conventionally ninety days.
Foreign trade zone merchandise appraised and classified in whatever condition it is in when transferred into customs territory for consumption or bonded warehousing. Waste recovered from privileged goods takes this status, as does domestic merchandise that has lost its identity, and the status may be changed to privileged before manipulation or manufacture.
Why it matters. The choice between privileged and non-privileged status is where zone savings are actually made. Non-privileged status lets a finished article take the lower duty rate of the finished good rather than of its parts.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →A unit load device consisting of a bottomless rigid shell used together with a pallet and net, and by extension the shell component itself.
The current U.S. name for most favored nation tariff status. The label changed for political reasons, but the treatment is the same: the lowest generally applicable rate.
An account a bank holds with a bank abroad, denominated in the currency of that country, with the equivalent domestic value recorded alongside for accounting.
A tariff notation indicating that a rate covers everything within a commodity group except items listed with their own rate. Equivalent notations appear in other tariffs under different abbreviations.
An officer commissioned to administer oaths and to attest and certify documents, taking affidavits and depositions and formally noting non-payment or non-acceptance of negotiable instruments.
The address shown on the transport document to which the carrier sends notice that goods are about to arrive.
Why it matters. An out-of-date notify party is a common reason an arrival notice never reaches the person who needed it, and free time runs regardless. Check it on every bill of lading draft.
The party named on a transport document, usually the buyer or its agent, whom the carrier alerts when a shipment is about to arrive.
Normal trade relations, the U.S. term for most favored nation tariff treatment.
A body encouraging nuclear energy to be used safely and to good effect, through information exchange among technical experts, shared analytical work, and joint research among member countries.
U.S. legislation making the Energy Department responsible for approving nuclear export and transfer arrangements, each requiring State Department concurrence together with consultation across arms control, nuclear regulatory, defense, and commerce agencies.
The treaty in force since 1970 intended to keep nuclear weapons within the five states that already held them. It works by preventing transfers that would help others develop such weapons, halting weapons programs in non-nuclear states, and promoting disarmament alongside peaceful use of nuclear technology.
The schedule of dual-use items with potential nuclear application whose export applications are referred for specialist review before a licence is decided.
The U.S. body regulating transfers of nuclear facilities, materials, and uniquely nuclear parts. Technology information sits with the Energy Department, weapons design and test equipment with the State Department, and dual-use items with potential nuclear application with Commerce.
A grouping of nuclear supplier states coordinating exports of nuclear materials and equipment alongside the international safeguards regime. Standing apart from the non-proliferation treaty gives it flexibility in controlling transfers to non-nuclear states and lets it draw in suppliers outside the treaty framework.
52 terms in this group.
The receipt for cargo and contract of carriage between shipper and ocean carrier. Issued to order it becomes a document of title, tradable while the goods are afloat. A clean version records that the goods were received in apparent good order; damage or shortage noted by the carrier makes it claused instead.
Why it matters. This single document decides who controls the cargo, whether a bank will pay, and what the carrier owes if things go wrong. Getting the consignee, notify party, and description right is the cheapest risk management available.
Bill of Lading Terms →The regulatory category covering ocean freight forwarders and NVOCCs acting between shippers and carriers. In the United States they are licensed under ocean shipping legislation, which includes an obligation to publish their tariffs in an accessible electronic system.
Why it matters. Checking that a provider holds a current OTI licence and bond is basic diligence. An unlicensed intermediary leaves you with no recourse if it fails mid-shipment.
Original equipment manufacturer. Strictly the maker that supplies equipment to a reseller for repackaging, bundling, or rebranding, though in common use it often means the reseller doing that instead.
A proposal to a specific party to enter a contract, definite in its terms and showing that whoever makes it means to be bound once it is accepted. A purchase order sent to a seller is an offer; an advertisement circulated widely is not.
The office within the U.S. export control authority that administers export licences and supports exporters through its online application system and counselling.
The U.S. executive office that evaluates and coordinates management procedures and program objectives across federal agencies and administers the federal budget.
The former name of the U.S. State Department office licensing defense exports, now the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
Money flowing from official government agencies to poorer countries and to multilateral institutions. To qualify, a transaction must be aimed principally at economic development and welfare in the recipient country and must be concessional, carrying a grant element above a set threshold.
Conditions a government attaches to approving a major purchase from abroad, meant to soften the trade impact or capture industrial benefit. Typically the exporter must buy a set value of locally produced goods, or transfer technology and production work into the importing country.
Why it matters. Offset obligations can outlast the sale that created them and carry penalties for non-performance. Price them into the deal rather than treating them as a formality.
A payment arrangement in which the seller ships and invoices, and the buyer pays on agreed terms afterwards, with no bank undertaking standing behind the payment.
Why it matters. Open account is the cheapest and most common way to trade, and it puts all the risk on the seller. Credit insurance or supply chain finance is how sellers make it survivable.
A manifest on which one or more bills of lading still require action before the cargo can be disposed of according to law or practice.
A standing cargo contract that stays in force until cancelled, under which each successive shipment is declared and automatically covered from the moment it attaches. It saves time and cost for underwriter, broker, and assured alike.
Why it matters. An open policy means you are covered from the first shipment without arranging cover each time, which removes the commonest gap in cargo protection. Declaring shipments promptly is the condition attached.
A container with a removable or open roof so bulky and awkward cargo can be loaded from above. Once loaded, roof bars brace the walls and a tarpaulin or rigid panels give some weather protection. It suits over-height cargo such as machinery.
An agreement under which the buyer may keep purchasing from the seller over a period without the price or terms changing.
The first stage of interagency dispute resolution on U.S. export licence applications, comprising groups covering nuclear export coordination, missile technology, chemical and biological warfare, and a general committee handling everything else.
A U.S. payment to a domestic flag carrier offsetting the higher cost of running a U.S. flag vessel against foreign competition.
The company or person running a foreign trade zone under agreement with the zone grantee. Where no such agreement exists and the grantee runs the zone itself, the grantee counts as the operator for customs purposes.
A right to take up an offer or choose among alternatives, and in trading the right to buy or sell property on stated terms in return for a premium. The holder may or may not exercise it, and letting it expire forfeits the premium.
A bill of lading consigning the goods to the order of a named person, so that title passes by endorsement.
The whole span from placing an order to the customer receiving it, covering order entry, processing, production, and transport to destination.
A bill of lading arrangement requiring the original document to be surrendered before the cargo is released, normally handled through a bank.
Why it matters. This is the mechanism that keeps a seller in control of goods until payment. It only works if the originals genuinely stay out of the buyer's hands until the bank releases them.
Retrieving goods from storage to fill store or customer orders.
Everything involved in fulfilling a customer order, from receiving it through invoicing and documentation to picking, packing, and despatch.
Cubeship Warehousing →Agreements between governments to restrain growth in trade of sensitive products, usually through import quotas, so that rising volumes do not disrupt or threaten competing industries and their workforces in importing countries.
The entry rank in the merchant marine deck department, assisting able seamen and officers and keeping the vessel's spaces in order. It is the first step in the progression toward master.
The principal forum in which the advanced industrial economies discuss shared economic and social questions. Founded in 1960 as successor to the body overseeing European participation in postwar reconstruction, its stated aim is the highest sustainable growth, employment, and living standards among members.
The continental body founded in 1963 to pursue African unity and end colonial rule, replaced by the African Union in 2002.
A regional body established in April 1948 promoting economic and social development across the Americas, with a membership spanning North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean.
An association of Arab oil exporting states, formed in 1968 to protect members' interests and give them a venue for working together across the oil industry. Its members account for a substantial share of world production.
A body established in 1971 promoting cultural, economic, scientific, and social cooperation among its Islamic member states, headquartered in Jeddah.
The association of oil producing states formed in 1960 to coordinate members' production and pricing policies.
Why it matters. Production decisions here move bunker prices, and bunker prices move the fuel surcharges on your freight invoice. It is the upstream driver behind BAF changes.
Signed and often stamped papers issued by an authority such as a bank, a shipping line, or a regulator. More than one original may exist, and under a letter of credit the requirement can also be satisfied by paperwork generated reprographically, automatically, or by computer, provided it is marked as original.
The maker whose equipment is supplied to a reseller for repackaging, bundling, or rebranding, though the term is often applied loosely to the reseller as well.
A U.S. classification for materials that pose enough hazard in transport to warrant regulation without falling squarely into one of the main hazard classes, subdivided into several categories by the nature of the risk.
Regulated material with anesthetic, irritating, noxious, or toxic properties capable of causing discomfort to people if it leaks, with dry ice and various chlorinated solvents as examples.
Regulated material named specifically, or capable of causing significant corrosion damage if it leaks, such as quicklime, metallic mercury, and certain metal compounds.
Named material whose characteristics make it unsuitable for carriage unless properly packaged, including bleaching powder, batteries sent for disposal, magnetized material, sawdust, and asbestos.
Why it matters. Magnetized material and lithium batteries are the two that catch ordinary importers, because neither looks hazardous. Both need declaration and specific packaging for air carriage.
Consumer commodities presenting limited hazard because of their form, quantity, and packaging, for which specific exceptions exist. Aerosol toiletries and small arms ammunition reclassified through packaging are typical.
Material outside every other hazard class that is nonetheless regulated, principally hazardous waste and hazardous substances.
The full name behind the ORM classification, covering materials regulated in transport without belonging to one of the principal hazard classes.
An option with no intrinsic value: a call whose market price sits below the strike, or a put whose market price sits above it. For European options the comparison is against the forward price at expiry.
Planning and controlling the flow of finished product from the end of the production line through to the end user, including transport and any storage in between.
An agreement under which one party sells its entire production to another, who agrees to take it.
A forward currency purchase or sale standing on its own, not paired with an offsetting spot transaction as it would be in a swap.
Obtaining materials, components, finished goods, or services from outside the organization rather than producing them internally, whether domestically or abroad.
Buying a foreign currency spot and simultaneously agreeing to sell it forward against the domestic currency.
Trading conducted away from formal exchanges, arranged directly between dealers, brokers, and customers rather than through a central venue.
A rate concession offered by ocean lines and inland carriers serving the U.S. west coast, designed to give midwestern shippers and importers rates comparable to those available through other coasts. The lines cut their rates and the inland carriers absorb terminal charges such as handling, wharfage, and loading.
A swap running from settlement to the next business day, which becomes three days across a weekend.
A report recording discrepancies between the bill of lading and what actually arrived: extra pieces as overs, missing pieces as short, and damaged pieces as damaged.
Why it matters. The OSD report is the record a cargo claim is built on, and it has to be raised at receipt. Signing a clean delivery receipt and reporting problems later leaves you with very little.
A self-sustaining U.S. agency promoting growth in developing countries by encouraging American private investment there. It finances projects through loans and guarantees, insures them against political risk, and provides counselling and country information to investors.
Chemically reactive substances under UN Class 5 that supply both heat and oxygen to a fire, such as hypochlorites, perchlorates, peroxides, and ammonium nitrate. They can ignite ordinary combustibles, react violently with fuels, produce toxic fumes in a fire, irritate through vapor and dust, burn skin and eyes, and in the case of peroxides explode when heated.
149 terms in this group.
A protection and indemnity association: a mutual, non-profit body of shipowners and charterers pooling resources to meet members' liability losses. Members pay a call based on the tonnage they enter, covering claims, reinsurance, and administration, with supplementary calls if the year's claims run high.
Why it matters. P&I cover sits behind the carrier's liability to you, which is why a cargo claim can take so long to settle. It is liability cover for the shipowner, not insurance for your goods.
Requirements set by the importing country for how goods must be packaged, labelled, and marked. Presented as consumer protection, non-standard versions frequently create obstacles for exporters and can operate as non-tariff barriers.
Why it matters. Labelling is a market access requirement, and relabelling after arrival is expensive or impossible. Confirm the rules before the production run, not at the border.
A bank advance made to fund production and packing of goods for shipment, secured by assigning the proceeds expected later under a documentary credit.
Why it matters. This is how an exporter finances an order it could not otherwise fund, using the buyer's credit as security. It only works where the credit is reliable, which usually means confirmed.
A shipper's document listing what is in a consignment and in what quantity, usually attached to the shipment itself and sent separately to the consignee so contents can be checked on arrival. Also called a bill of parcels.
Why it matters. Customs and warehouse staff check the physical goods against this document. When it disagrees with the commercial invoice on piece count or weight, the shipment usually stops until the difference is explained.
A low portable platform, sided or open, used to store and move goods in factories, warehouses, trucks, containers, and vessels. Usually wooden and built so forklift or pallet jack tines can lift it with its load, though plastic, steel, aluminium, and fiberboard versions exist. In air freight the term covers the flat base on which a unit load is built up.
Why it matters. Wooden pallets are regulated packaging: heat treatment and marking are required almost everywhere. Untreated wood gets the whole shipment refused, not just the pallet.
A handling device carrying two forks on castors, used to raise and shift palletized goods around plants, warehouses, and terminals. Manual versions are raised by a hand-operated pump; powered versions do it electrically.
The informal group of major creditor governments that meets to restructure the official debt of countries in difficulty. The name also attaches to the finance ministers of the industrial countries participating in the standing borrowing arrangements behind the International Monetary Fund.
Spoken rather than written. A parol contract exists only in words the parties exchanged and was never reduced to writing.
Any loss short of a total one, which in marine practice means either a particular average or a general average loss.
A loss falling on one interest alone rather than being shared. It takes two forms: total loss of part of the goods, and goods arriving damaged.
Why it matters. This is the ordinary cargo claim, and it is what most people mean when they say their shipment was damaged. General average is the unusual one, where everybody contributes.
Any federal agency besides customs whose requirements must be satisfied before imported goods can be released: food and drug, agriculture, consumer product safety, fish and wildlife, transportation, and others.
Why it matters. Most surprise holds are PGA holds, not customs holds, and the fix usually has to happen at the supplier before shipment. Identify which agencies touch your product before the first order, not at the port.
The Canadian program enlisting private industry in strengthening border security and countering organized crime and terrorism, working in parallel with equivalent programs elsewhere and offering members faster processing.
A unit representing one passenger carried one mile or kilometer, aggregated across a period to measure a carrier's total passenger traffic.
A worldwide convention, in force since 1978 and open to parties of the earlier industrial property convention, that simplifies the procedure for filing, searching, and publishing international patent applications. It addresses process rather than the substance of the rights themselves.
A requirement that a negotiable instrument be settled in the currency of the place where it was originally issued.
The party a check, draft, or note is made payable to, named after the words pay to the order of.
The party primarily liable to pay the sum an instrument evidences.
Gross weight less tare for a container or trailer, the maximum cargo weight the equipment is rated to carry, and for a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft the gross weight less tare, fuel, and crew. It also means the revenue-earning part of a load.
Why it matters. Payload, not cube, is what limits dense cargo, and road weight limits often bite before the container's own rating does. Check both before planning a load.
Dimensions Calculator →A merchant service authorizing card and direct payment processing for online businesses, sitting between the website or app and the payment processor. Banks, card companies, and specialist providers all offer them.
The amount by which the value of a country's exports exceeds that of its imports.
An online payments platform supporting transfers between users as an alternative to cheques and money orders, founded in 1998 and operating independently since being separated from its former parent.
The Mexican customs declaration required for goods entering or leaving Mexico, prepared by a licensed Mexican customs broker.
Why it matters. The pedimento is the document Mexican authorities audit against, and it must match the commercial and transport paperwork exactly. Keeping copies is a legal record-keeping obligation, not just good practice.
Cubeship Mexico →Charges assessed or action taken by customs where a regulation or law it enforces has been broken.
Why it matters. Penalty exposure scales with culpability, running from negligence through gross negligence to fraud, and a prior disclosure made before customs opens an investigation sharply reduces it. Self-reporting is almost always cheaper than being found.
Latin for by the day, and in container shipping the daily charge for keeping carrier equipment beyond the free period allowed.
A theoretical market with many buyers and sellers trading an identical good, full awareness of prices and volumes, no discrimination between participants, and freely mobile resources.
Carrying out a contractual obligation properly and in full, which discharges it.
A bond guaranteeing that the terms of a contract will be met. If the supplier fails to comply, the buyer claims financial restitution under it.
A pricing model paying a supplier on a sliding scale tied to quality or volume achieved, with financial incentives for exceeding a standard and penalties for falling short.
A specific cause of loss or potential loss that a policy either covers or excludes.
The notional level beyond which cutting tariff protection would seriously injure a domestic industry.
Loss or damage from the hazards peculiar to a sea voyage: heavy weather, stranding, striking rocks or the bottom, collision with other vessels, and contact with floating objects.
An individual or entity the law recognizes as holding rights and obligations. Companies and partnerships qualify in most systems, as do limited and unlimited liability companies where the law provides for them.
A diplomat whom the receiving state is content to accept in the post to which they have been assigned.
A diplomat the receiving government declares unacceptable, obliging their recall.
National income less the parts not actually received by individuals and non-profit bodies, such as retained corporate profits, corporate taxes, and employer social insurance contributions, plus receipts not arising from production such as transfers and government interest.
Storing and moving finished product from the factory through the distribution chain to the end customer.
A document confirming that a consignment has been inspected and found free of harmful pests and plant disease, commonly required by importing authorities for plant products.
Why it matters. It must be issued by the exporting country's plant health authority before shipment, and a shipment arriving without one is refused. It cannot be obtained retrospectively.
Selecting components or finished goods from inventory and packing them for despatch.
Surface transport between the shipper's premises and the origin terminal, and between the destination terminal and the receiver. Pickup is provided on request for an extra charge; in air cargo, delivery is normally arranged automatically at additional cost unless the shipper asks otherwise.
An instruction from a broker acting for the consignee telling a carrier to collect freight from a stated location.
A platform built out over the water on pillars or piles, used as a landing place for vessels.
Carriage from the origin pier to the discharge pier only, applying to container yard cargo, with drayage at each end left to the customer.
Carrying a road trailer, complete with its chassis and wheels, on a rail flatcar. Formally called trailer on flatcar.
Losing part of a package's contents to petty theft, or steady losses in small amounts, as distinct from a whole consignment disappearing.
Why it matters. Pilferage is excluded from the narrower cargo wordings and needs to be specifically covered. Sealed containers and tamper-evident packaging matter more than the policy wording for preventing it.
Navigating a vessel to its destination using the compass, charts, fixed visual references, satellite positioning, and radar.
The smallest decimal increments in a currency quotation, conventionally the fourth decimal place, used as shorthand when quoting movements.
Exposure to loss from government action or instability rather than from commercial failure: expropriation, currency inconvertibility, war, civil unrest, or a licence being revoked.
Why it matters. Commercial credit insurance usually excludes these causes, so a buyer that is willing and able to pay can still leave you unpaid. Cover for it is bought separately.
Cover against political risk, written by commercial insurers, government agencies, and multilateral bodies that guarantee investments in developing markets.
Why it matters. It responds to expropriation, currency inconvertibility, and political violence, none of which cargo or credit cover touches. For investment or long-term supply into unstable markets it is the missing piece.
An agreement among carriers to share freight, customers, revenue, or profit. U.S. law generally prohibits it for surface carriers, with narrow exceptions permitted in aviation.
A harbour where ships anchor and work cargo, and separately the left side of a vessel when facing forward.
A government body owning and running a port or terminal and everything physical about it, from wharves and docks to piers, transit sheds, handling equipment, and warehouses. Also called a harbour authority, port trust, or port commission.
A charge for services performed at a port, covering items such as wharfage, dockage, security, and infrastructure fees.
Why it matters. Port charges arrive as separate line items after the freight rate is agreed, and they vary sharply between terminals. Ask for them itemized when comparing routings.
An intermediate stop on a vessel's itinerary, made to take on stores or fuel or to work cargo and passengers.
The port where a consignment comes off the vessel, which is not necessarily the final destination if that lies further inland.
Why it matters. Free time and demurrage start running at the discharge port, not at your door. An inland destination adds days that the ocean carrier's clock does not allow for.
The seaport or airport where cargo is loaded for onward transport.
An officially designated place where a conveyance may enter a country and discharge passengers and cargo, and where customs and immigration functions are performed.
The seaport, airport, or inland customs point at which an export consignment leaves the country.
The port where cargo is loaded aboard the vessel.
Selecting a port of entry on the basis that its customs officers are expected to treat the shipment more favourably.
Why it matters. National processing has largely closed this off, since risk scoring follows the importer rather than the port. Choosing a port on congestion, drayage cost, and inland connections is the sound version of the same decision.
An arrangement letting exporters shipping by air from inland cities complete customs formalities at the originating airport rather than waiting until the goods reach a distant gateway.
Foreign investment falling short of direct investment. It takes in voting shares bought below the control threshold, debt securities, financing extended against trade, and lending between governments, while official reserve transactions sit outside it.
The idea that a transaction or negotiation can leave every party better off, as opposed to a zero-sum situation where one side's gain is another's loss.
A vessel too large for the original Panama Canal locks, a class that grew common as container ships outgrew that constraint. The canal's expansion introduced a larger New Panamax standard above it.
Checks made after export to confirm a controlled item is being used for the purpose its licence permitted. End users, intermediate consignees, and purchasers may all be questioned, with the export control authority working through the local embassy or consulate.
Why it matters. A licence is not the end of the obligation. Diversion after delivery is still your exposure, which is why end use statements and periodic checks on distributors matter.
A check bearing a future date, which a bank cannot pay before that date and must return if presented early. Presented on or after the date it will be honored if funds are available.
A written instrument by which a principal authorizes an agent to act on its behalf, whether entering contracts, signing documents, or spending money. A special power covers one defined act; a general power covers a class of them. Importers commonly grant one to a customs broker.
Why it matters. The power of attorney is what lets your broker file entries in your name, and its scope defines what they may commit you to. Read it, limit it where appropriate, and keep the list of who holds one current.
Formal permission for a ship to work her cargo, granted on the master's assurance that no contagious disease is aboard. A vessel requesting it flies the yellow signal flag.
An early notice from the issuing bank that a credit or an amendment is coming, typically marked that full details will follow. Unless it says otherwise, the pre-advice binds the issuing bank to issue or amend consistently with it.
A U.S. border release mechanism using barcodes to speed clearance of commercial shipments while still running each through border risk scoring and targeting.
The Canadian border release mechanism for importers holding minimum documentation privileges, which speeds clearance of repetitive commercial consignments that carry little risk and little revenue. Release data may be submitted on paper or electronically, and the system handles goods requiring permits as well.
The first leg, taking goods from wherever the seller holds them to the port or place at which main international carriage starts, usually by road, rail, or inland waterway.
Incoterms Guide →Enquiries made before a licence is granted to confirm that an application to export a controlled item reflects a genuine order. The applicant, consignees, purchaser, intermediate consignees, and end user may all be questioned through the local diplomatic post.
Able to forecast outcomes from historical data and analysis, used across finance, marketing, weather, and health to support decisions about what is likely to happen.
A creditor's right to be paid ahead of other creditors of the same debtor, as a secured creditor generally ranks above an unsecured one.
A duty rate lower than the normal rate, granted to goods that qualify as originating under a free trade agreement or a unilateral preference program.
Why it matters. Preference is claimed by the importer and has to be supported by an origin certification you hold at the time of claim. Customs verifies against the bill of materials, not the certificate, so keep the underlying records.
The earlier arrangement granting tariff preferences among eastern and southern African states, which developed into the wider common market for the region.
The initial finding in a dumping investigation, made within a set period after the petition is filed or the case self-initiated. Where there is a reasonable basis to believe the goods are being sold below fair value, liquidation of affected entries is suspended and cash deposits begin.
Why it matters. This is the point at which duty starts being collected, well before the case concludes. Entries made from here on carry an unresolved liability until they liquidate.
Transport charges settled by the shipper at the time of shipment rather than collected from the consignee.
Freight whose transport charges the shipper has paid at despatch. Such charges are generally not refundable even if the shipment is later frustrated.
The period fixed by law within which a claim must be brought, after which it can no longer be enforced. Also called a limitation period.
A U.S. advisory body counselling the president on policies and programs affecting export performance, promoting export growth, and providing a forum where business, industry, agriculture, labor, and government work through trade problems.
Subsidy or financial aid given to growers, producers, or distributors under government rules to stop market prices falling below a set floor.
Why it matters. Support programs in an exporting country are the classic basis for countervailing duty. Buying from a supported sector can leave you paying that duty on import.
Setting what a loan costs, meaning the interest rate together with any other charges such as arrangement fees.
Taken as true unless other evidence contradicts it. Unless an assignment says outstanding interest stays with the assignor, the right to collect it is treated prima facie as having passed to the assignee.
A basic raw material drawn from nature and used to make other products.
A U.S. regulatory test for whether a trucking operation is genuinely private carriage, devised in response to operators using artificial buy and sell arrangements to escape interstate trucking rules.
The party taking overall responsibility for delivering a contract, usually by coordinating a set of subcontractors.
The party that authorizes an agent to act on its behalf.
A voluntary corrected declaration an importer or exporter makes in good faith after a non-fraudulent breach of customs law or an incorrect certification. To count, it must come before any formal investigation begins or becomes known, be made promptly once the error is discovered, and be accompanied by payment of the duties and fees owed.
Why it matters. A valid prior disclosure cuts penalty exposure dramatically, often to interest alone. Finding an error and sitting on it is the single most expensive choice available.
Cubeship Customs Support →Advance notification to the U.S. food regulator that food destined for people or for animals is coming into the country, filed before the goods reach the border.
Why it matters. This is a food-specific filing separate from the customs entry, and missing it means refusal at the port. It has to be lodged inside a defined window before arrival.
Reserved air freight or express service ranking behind mail and small package traffic but ahead of standard freight, with any size or weight accepted within service limits. Space can be reserved on a named flight, and some carriers refund part of the charge if the shipment misses it.
The most serious category in the U.S. annual review of intellectual property protection abroad, naming countries whose practices are judged the most damaging and which face possible trade action.
Applying just in time principles to transport, timing arrivals to the moment goods are needed rather than holding stock against them.
The second tier in the U.S. annual review of intellectual property protection abroad, listing countries whose practices warrant close attention short of the most serious designation.
A company whose shares are not traded publicly, and more broadly one formed by private individuals to conduct business rather than to perform government functions.
A U.S. body working with the export credit agency to channel private capital into export finance, lending to public and private borrowers abroad that need medium or longer term funding for purchases of U.S. goods and services.
The designation used in Singapore, India, and several other Commonwealth jurisdictions for a private company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
A company owned by a small group of shareholders whose liability is capped, with shares not offered to the public.
The part of an economy outside direct government control, operating through the market.
Selling state-owned enterprises and assets to private hands, letting market forces determine their future. It is the reverse of nationalization.
A foreign trade zone election made before any handling or manufacture that would change the tariff classification. The goods are classified, appraised, and their duty fixed as at the date of application, and that treatment holds when they later leave the zone for domestic consumption whatever has happened to them meanwhile.
Why it matters. Privileged status locks in today's rate and classification, which protects you against a tariff increase while the goods sit in the zone. Non-privileged status does the opposite, letting a finished article take the lower rate of the finished good.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →Attached to the name of another document, it marks an informal version supplied ahead of the real one to satisfy a requirement, usually a customs one.
An invoice a supplier issues before a sale or shipment, telling the buyer what will be sent, in what quantity, at what value, and to what specification. It serves as a preliminary invoice alongside a quotation, and for customs purposes on samples and advertising material. Customs may also accept one from the importer where the commercial invoice is not yet available.
Why it matters. Buyers use it to open a letter of credit or apply for an import licence, so the description and terms on it need to match what will finally ship. Discrepancies between the pro forma and the final invoice cause credit failures.
The legal responsibility a manufacturer, producer, own-brand retailer, or trader carries for goods that turn out faulty or defective.
Why it matters. An importer that puts its own name on a product is generally treated as the producer, taking on the manufacturer's liability. Own-brand importing is a legal position as well as a commercial one.
Moving manufacturing to another country, whether performed by the company's own division or subsidiary there or by an unrelated third party.
A measure of production efficiency, expressed as the ratio of output to the input used to produce it.
Net sales less the cost of goods sold, before selling and administrative expense. Stated as an amount it is gross profit; stated as a percentage of net sales it is gross margin. In dumping cases the profit element used in constructed value is that normally earned by a producer in the exporting country making the same or a similar product.
Features or tasks added to a project once the specification and budget were agreed. It is close to inevitable in outsourcing arrangements, is best anticipated in the original contract, and normally gets billed on a cost plus footing.
An authorization covering large-scale exports of a range of goods and technical data for defined activities such as capital expansion, maintenance and repair, operating supplies, or materials feeding production for sale.
A written promise to pay, and as a negotiable instrument the evidence of a debt a borrower owes a lender. Where it lacks the attributes of negotiability, the law does not allow it to be transferred.
The person or entity that organizes a company, arranging its formation, capital, and initial contracts before it exists as a legal person.
A rate offered under special conditions, usually restricted to traffic between a limited set of points or for a defined period, to build volume on a lane.
A contract term naming the legal system the parties have chosen to govern their rights, usually the law of whoever drafted it. Without one, the governing law is worked out by finding whichever system has the closest connection to the contract. Also called a governing law clause.
Why it matters. Naming the law is half the job; naming the forum or arbitration seat is the other half. A contract with one and not the other still leaves you arguing about where.
Information a company develops about its business, products, or activities that is not otherwise publicly available. It covers client lists, software, trade secrets, financial statements, marketing plans, research data, performance specifications, and manufacturing processes.
The Australian and South African designation for a private company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
Someone holding a right or interest in a property or a business to the exclusion of others.
A business owned by one individual, who takes all the profit and carries all the liabilities and losses personally.
A Mexican program cutting or removing import duty across a range of industrial sectors, aimed particularly at materials and components that will later leave again as finished manufactures.
Why it matters. For manufacturing in Mexico, PROSEC rates often beat the agreement rate on inputs from outside North America. It is worth checking alongside USMCA rather than instead of it.
Cubeship Mexico →Deliberately restricting imports so that less efficient domestic producers can compete with foreign ones.
Charter party terms covering events nobody planned for, whether ice, industrial action, a general average sacrifice, or a collision.
In trade remedy proceedings, the order under which confidential business information is released to a party's attorney or representative on terms restricting its use.
A carrier service keeping a shipment under surveillance at each stage from origin to destination, extendable to pickup and delivery, with armed guard protection available at the higher levels. It carries an additional charge.
A duty imposed to make imported goods dearer than domestic equivalents, giving local products a price advantage.
The route by which an importer, consignee, or other authorized party challenges a customs decision, most often on the dutiable status of goods. It is filed within a set period after liquidation, and if refused the matter can be taken to the trade court.
Why it matters. The protest window opens at liquidation and closes fast, and missing it forfeits the money regardless of how clearly the entry was wrong. Watching liquidation dates is what makes recovery possible.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The customs module tracking protests from receipt through to final action.
A preliminary document signed by negotiators as the basis for final agreements, conventions, or treaties, and separately the etiquette and ranking observed among diplomatic staff.
The device that let the original contracting parties take on the postwar trade agreement's obligations and benefits provisionally, without full ratification, allowing existing inconsistent domestic legislation to stand.
Duty imposed in Canada once a preliminary finding of dumping or subsidization has been made, pending the final decision.
Post Telephone Telegraph, the state monopoly historically providing postal and telecommunications services in many countries. Most have since been deregulated and few such monopolies remain.
A company whose shares trade publicly, and separately an entity a government creates to run part of its operations.
Goods whose benefits cannot practically be withheld from anyone, whether by their nature, by policy design, or by default.
The British designation for a public company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
The part of an economy in state or common ownership, taking in national government, local authorities, nationalized industries, and public corporations.
A document a public warehouse issues on taking goods into store, available in negotiable or non-negotiable form.
Offering or distributing information to the public at large, and in defamation the act of communicating the material to a third person.
The charge for a given class of cargo as set out in a carrier's tariff.
Producing and distributing only against actual customer demand, so nothing is made or shipped until it is ordered and no finished stock is held. The idea extends beyond logistics to any decision driven by the market rather than by central direction.
A court award requiring a party to pay a sum intended to punish it and deter others, over and above compensating the loss.
A buyer's written offer to a supplier setting out all the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction.
Why it matters. The purchase order is where Incoterms, payment terms, and packaging and marking requirements should be fixed. Leaving them to the supplier's invoice means accepting whatever it says.
Cubeship PO Management →A statutory measure in dumping cases meaning the U.S. selling price of goods sold, or likely to be sold, before importation by the producer or reseller for export to the United States. Adjustments for items such as duty, commissions, and freight are made so it can be compared meaningfully with foreign market value.
In export control terms, the party abroad that has contracted with the applicant to buy the goods or technology, which will then be delivered to whoever is the ultimate consignee.
An agent who buys goods in its own country for foreign buyers such as government bodies and private companies.
Why it matters. Buying commissions paid to your own purchasing agent are generally not dutiable, while selling commissions are. Documenting which side the agent acts for is what preserves that treatment.
The theory that two currencies are in equilibrium when a given basket of goods costs the same in both, once converted at the prevailing rate.
A competitive system of many buyers and sellers in which prices emerge from the free interaction of supply and demand.
British usage for equipment, a facility, or a vehicle designed and made to do one particular job, closest to custom made in American usage.
A stocking arrangement in which a central authority decides how inventory is positioned, rather than leaving those calls to the field locations holding it.
Producing and distributing against forecast rather than against actual orders, with decisions made centrally without direct market signals.
Why it matters. Long ocean lead times force most importers into forecasting, which is what makes forecast error show up as either stockouts or dead inventory. Where the forecast breaks, air freight is the usual patch.
A hybrid approach combining forecast and actual demand, as when components are bought on forecast but finished goods are built only against real orders.
Why it matters. The point where you switch from push to pull is the decoupling point, and moving it closer to the customer is what postponement strategies are for. Final assembly or labelling in a warehouse near the market is the common version.
A right to redeem a debt instrument at par before maturity in defined circumstances, and more generally the option to sell an asset at a set price.
7 terms in this group.
Explicit ceilings on how much of a commodity may be imported or exported in a period, usually measured by volume and sometimes by value. They may be set selectively, varying by country of origin, or globally as a single total, which tends to favor the most efficient suppliers. Licences normally administer them.
A solid structure alongside which a vessel moors to work cargo.
A strategy that cuts cost and improves service by shortening order fulfilment lead times and delivering more frequently.
Something for something: a mutual consideration, where an advantage is obtained in return for a comparable concession.
A limit on how much of a good may be imported over a set period, applied either across all sources or to particular countries.
Why it matters. Quota goods are released in order of presentation, so timing decides whether you clear at the in-quota rate or wait. Once it fills, you either pay the over-quota rate or hold the goods until the next period.
The customs module tracking authorized quota levels and the quantities entered against them, working alongside export visas issued by origin countries so that each side's records can be reconciled.
How a currency price is expressed. A direct quotation states what a set amount of foreign currency costs in domestic money; the less common indirect form states the domestic currency in units of the foreign one.
105 terms in this group.
Substances under UN Class 7 whose hazard varies with the type and quantity involved. Damaged or broken items must not be touched, handling requires protective gloves, packaging and monitoring are supervised by a radiological monitor, and anyone in direct contact with damaged material must be checked.
The rail version of Canada's pre-arrival review system, allowing release data to be assessed before the train reaches the border.
The transport document evidencing that goods have been accepted for carriage by rail, with a duplicate given to the shipper as a receipt.
Short form for the rail pre-arrival review system used in Canadian customs release processing.
How far apart two rate basis points lie, used to read the applicable rate from a tariff table.
The named point standing for a whole geographic area on a freight rate table, so that every origin or destination within that area rates from the same reference.
A group of carriers organized to set joint rates, divide the resulting revenues and liabilities, and publish tariffs on members' behalf. U.S. legislation gave such bureaus statutory standing for collective rate making.
How much of one country's money can be bought on a given date for a sum of another's. Rates move constantly under economic and political pressure.
Radical redesign of processes across an organization, seeking a step change in how the business works rather than incremental improvement. It is usually driven from the top to cut labor cost, lift productivity, and respond faster to customers.
Exporting goods that were previously imported, without further processing that would change what they are.
Why it matters. Re-export is what makes duty drawback and bonded warehousing worth using, since duty either never falls due or comes back. Under U.S. export controls a re-export can also require a licence long after the goods left the country.
Insurance bought by insurers to cap their own exposure, effectively a policy with a very large deductible so that losses above a threshold fall on the reinsurer. Cover is often syndicated across several companies to spread the risk further.
An intermediary buying from a supplier, receiving that supplier's invoice, and then issuing its own invoice at a higher price to the end customer.
Why it matters. Which invoice customs values on matters, and the first sale rule can sometimes allow the lower factory price where the goods were clearly destined for export. Getting it wrong in either direction is expensive.
A very high capacity lift vehicle for moving and stacking containers at sea, road, and rail terminals. Unlike a forklift it grips the container from above, and modern machines stack four high and reach into a second row.
Processing that happens immediately or within a guaranteed short delay, usually in response to an external event, essential where a system must keep pace with what it is monitoring.
Using connected devices and analytics to see where assets are throughout the supply chain, from production through to delivery.
Why it matters. Container telematics turn a shipment into a live data feed, which matters most for cold chain and high-value cargo. It also produces the evidence a claim depends on.
A coordinated revaluation and devaluation of several countries' currencies at once, first used for the corrections made under the postwar monetary agreements and later for adjustments within the European monetary arrangements.
The degree of care an ordinarily prudent person would use in the same circumstances, and in customs terms the standard the importer of record must meet in classifying, valuing, and declaring goods. Falling short can amount to negligence.
Why it matters. Reasonable care is the legal standard you are judged against, and the agency publishes guidance precisely so you cannot claim ignorance. Asking a broker is not the same as exercising it yourself.
Cubeship Customs Support →A legal test for liability comparing what a party actually did against what a reasonable person with the same characteristics would have done in similar circumstances.
A written acknowledgment that value has been received, which in transport also evidences that goods have passed into a carrier's or warehouse's custody.
The place where cargo passes into a carrier's care and custody, whether for storage or for onward carriage.
A bill of lading confirming the carrier has taken the goods but not that they have been loaded aboard.
Why it matters. Letters of credit almost always require shipped on board wording, so a received for shipment bill is a discrepancy even when the cargo later sails. An on board notation cures it.
The paperwork accompanying a shipment to the dock, giving shipper name and address, piece count, commodity, weight, consignee, booking reference, and any special requirements such as labelled cargo or temperature control.
Bilateral umbrella agreements lowering barriers in defense procurement, typically waiving buy-national restrictions and duties so each side's contractors can compete for the other's defense business. They date from efforts to improve standardization and interoperability among allies.
An agreement between countries exchanging trade concessions expected to be of comparable value.
Mutual exchange of privileges or benefits, also expressed as mutuality of benefits or equivalence of advantages.
An electronic customs process, begun at the importer's request, allowing elements of an entry that were undetermined when it was filed, other than anything affecting admissibility, to be supplied later once the correct figures are known.
Why it matters. This is how you handle values that are not final at entry, such as transfer prices subject to year-end adjustment or trade agreement claims still being qualified. Flagging the entry at filing is what preserves the option.
Changing the consignor or consignee, the place of delivery, or the destination of a shipment in transit, or giving it up at origin.
Why it matters. Reconsignment is billable and often needs the original documents amended, which banks will not do lightly under a letter of credit. Diverting cargo mid-voyage is rarely as simple as calling the carrier.
A document evidencing a transaction, or a set of data elements kept as lasting evidence of what happened.
Why it matters. Customs recordkeeping obligations typically run five years from entry and cover far more than the entry itself: purchase orders, correspondence, payment evidence, and classification working. Losing them is itself a violation.
The right to claim against those jointly and severally liable on an instrument, such as endorsers and drawers, where the primary party fails to pay.
Why it matters. Whether a bank discounts your receivable with or without recourse decides who carries the buyer's credit risk. Without recourse means you have genuinely sold it.
A clause in a documentary credit letting the seller draw an unsecured advance from the correspondent bank to fund making or buying the goods, with the issuing bank carrying the liability. The name comes from the red ink once used to make the clause stand out.
Why it matters. This is pre-shipment finance built into the credit itself, useful where a supplier cannot fund production. The buyer's bank carries the risk that the goods never ship.
A customs demand that goods already released be returned to its custody for re-examination, export, or destruction.
Why it matters. A redelivery notice usually follows a marking, labelling, or partner agency problem found after release. Failing to produce the goods converts it into liquidated damages against your bond.
U.S. legislation of 1948 authorizing rate bureaus as a sanctioned forum for railroads to agree rates, later amended to grant express antitrust immunity for collective rate making conducted under its procedures.
Everyday shorthand for refrigerated equipment, covering the container, trailer, or railcar and the vessels built to carry them.
A ship with refrigerated holds, built for perishable cargo carried in bulk rather than in containers.
An insulated and mechanically cooled road trailer for perishables, carrying produce, dairy, juice, meat, poultry, and pharmaceuticals. Shorter units serve local work or run in multiples, with heavier axle configurations available for weight.
Money returned to the consignor or consignee where the carrier collected more than the agreed or legally applicable charges.
Deliberately cutting off supply of materials, components, or finished stock to a business that depends on them to trade. Many competition regimes treat it as unlawful.
A carrier working within a region rather than nationally or internationally, often linking smaller cities with each other or with major hubs.
Institutions owned by their member countries that lend for development and provide related assistance within a region, covering Africa, Asia, Europe's transition economies, and the Americas.
A treaty among two or more countries that cuts tariffs and other barriers on trade between them, ranging from a simple free trade area to a customs union or common market.
Why it matters. Every agreement has its own origin rules, and qualifying under one says nothing about qualifying under another. Check the specific rule for your tariff heading.
A volumetric unit of 100 cubic feet used in measuring a vessel's registered tonnage.
The bank named in a credit that provides cover to whichever bank has paid, accepted, or negotiated, once conforming documents have been received. Often it is the issuing bank itself. Where it is not, it takes on no obligation of its own until it confirms the instruction, and the issuing bank stays liable throughout.
A refund of duty paid on imported goods that did not conform to specification, were shipped without consent, or were defective at import, and are then exported or destroyed under customs supervision.
Why it matters. Goods you rejected and sent back or destroyed still carry duty you paid, and most importers never claim it. Documenting the rejection and the destruction is what makes the claim work.
Tariff Refund Calculator →An exchange of concessions weighted to the parties' differing levels of development, so that what each gives up is proportionate rather than identical.
A shipment moved on to its final port after first being carried to an intermediate one.
A document a claimant signs giving up a claim, or acknowledging that a claim payment has been received, and undertaking to make no further claim.
The Canadian program covering automatic release notification, arrival certification, status enquiry, and automatic status updates, transmitting release confirmation electronically to authorized importers.
A Canadian program under which importers and brokers post approved security and, in exchange, get shipments released quickly, accounting for and paying duty afterwards. Release times vary sharply by how the data is submitted, with electronic filing far faster than paper.
Why it matters. Posting security to release first and account later is what keeps freight moving at the border. The tradeoff is that the accounting deadline still runs and penalties follow if it slips.
A reduced rate on high-value cargo, given because the shipper accepts a maximum carrier liability below the goods' actual or declared value.
Why it matters. Taking the released rate means accepting that a total loss pays a fraction of what the goods are worth. Cargo insurance is what makes that trade sensible.
Discharge of the obligation under a temporary importation bond where the goods are destroyed under customs supervision instead of being exported within the bond period. Goods imported purely for testing may be destroyed in the course of those tests without supervision.
Cancelling a debt, and in customs relieving all or part of the duty otherwise payable on an import or export.
Funds sent from one party to another in payment for goods or services.
An arrangement where a carrier collects from the receiver amounts due to the shipper for services performed around the transport, and passes them on, charging a modest fee for doing so.
In a documentary collection, the seller sending documents to the buyer through the banking chain.
Making a payment, and in another sense cancelling a debt.
In a documentary collection, the bank acting as intermediary that forwards the seller's documents to the collecting bank and passes payments back.
Literally the people's currency, the official money of China, issued by its central bank and denominated in yuan. The dual system of domestic currency and foreign exchange certificates was unified in 1994 as a step toward wider convertibility and a more market-based rate.
Why it matters. Onshore and offshore renminbi trade at slightly different rates, and which one applies to your payment depends on how it is settled. Invoicing in renminbi can win price concessions from suppliers who would otherwise price in currency risk.
The stock level at which a replenishment order is triggered, set high enough to meet demand across the time needed to order and receive more.
Why it matters. With ocean lead times the reorder point has to cover both transit and the variability around it. Setting it on average transit rather than worst case is how stockouts happen.
Making good a loss or damage, and in transport regulation compensation ordered where a carrier charged an unlawful rate.
A legal action to recover property brought by its owner or the party entitled to hold it against someone wrongfully keeping it, as where a sales agent holds on to unsold consignment stock past the term of the agreement.
A formal invitation from a buyer to one or more potential suppliers asking them to propose how they would supply goods or services against a stated specification.
A buyer's request for a price on defined quantities of goods or services against specifications it sets out.
Why it matters. A freight RFQ that omits Incoterms, commodity, density, and volumes will produce quotes you cannot compare. Specify the lane the way you actually ship it.
An agreement under which a seller supplies all of a buyer's needs for stated goods or services over a period at a fixed price, and the buyer takes them exclusively from that seller.
To cancel a contract. The right can arise where the counterparty has not performed inside a reasonable period.
The cancelling of a contract, unwinding it so the parties return to where they stood before it was made.
An airline service letting shippers hold space on named flights in advance.
Quantitative limits governments already had in place before joining the postwar trade framework, permitted under its grandfathering provisions. Most of those still standing are maintained by developed countries against agricultural imports.
A historic loan to a shipowner or master secured on the cargo rather than the hull, repayable with interest only if the cargo arrived safely. It functioned as both investment and insurance.
A remedy restoring the parties to the positions they held before a contract was made or breached, distinct from damages, which compensate a party for loss suffered.
One of the twelve traditional marine perils. Restraint covers loss from a government withholding free use of a port; detainment covers loss where a vessel and her cargo are held by blockade, quarantine, or the exercise of police power.
An airline term for hazardous material as defined in the domestic transport regulations, which becomes dangerous goods when the same items move internationally by air.
A credit whose negotiation is limited to one named bank rather than being available at any bank.
Why it matters. A restricted credit routes your documents through a bank you did not choose, which can slow payment and add cost. Ask for it to be freely negotiable where you can.
Private sector conduct designed to limit competition and hold prices up, such as collusion among the largest suppliers.
An endorsement limiting how a negotiable instrument may be used or to whom it may be transferred, as opposed to a blank endorsement that leaves it open.
Restricting imports from a country that has raised its own tariffs or taken other measures damaging your exports.
An additional duty imposed on goods from a country in response to measures it has taken against your exports.
Why it matters. Retaliatory tariffs arrive with little notice and apply by tariff line, so a product that was duty-free can suddenly carry a substantial additional rate. Watching the published lists is the only defense.
Tariff Refund Calculator →Reinsurance bought by a reinsurer, adding a second layer of risk transfer beyond the first. The company providing it is the retrocessionaire.
A reinsurer that writes cover for other reinsurance companies.
An export licence application sent back undecided because it is incomplete, needs more information, or covers a product that does not require a specific licence.
Raising the official value of a currency that had previously been devalued, measured against another country's currency.
Recovering products and packaging back from the end user, together with the systems that manage it. Driven by environmental expectations, policy, and law, it rests on the idea that reusable packaging and outdated, damaged, or defective goods are best recycled or reused by the original maker. It reaches well beyond recycling into product and system redesign.
Why it matters. Cross-border returns are imports in their own right, with duty, origin, and marking questions attached. Getting returned goods relief right is what stops you paying duty twice on the same item.
A global trade body for the returns and reverse logistics sector, providing information, research, and connections between brands, retailers, manufacturers, and service providers.
An older set of U.S. trade terms now regarded as obsolete but still occasionally used domestically. The internationally accepted terms are the current Incoterms rules.
Why it matters. These definitions give words like FOB meanings that differ from the Incoterms rules, which is exactly how contracts end up with two parties reading the same term differently. Say which set you mean.
Incoterms Guide →A credit the buyer can cancel or alter after issue. Because it offers the seller so little security, it is now very rare, and the current rules treat every credit as irrevocable unless it says otherwise.
Ending an antidumping order or terminating a suspended investigation, usually on application by a party and normally considered only where there have been no sales below fair value for at least two consecutive years. The authority may also act on its own initiative on the same basis.
A credit that automatically restores to its full value after each drawing, so repeated shipments can run under one instrument.
Why it matters. For a regular supply relationship this avoids opening a fresh credit each time, cutting both cost and administration. The revolving basis, whether by time or by value, needs to be spelled out.
The currency of Cambodia, divided into 100 sen, though U.S. dollars circulate widely alongside it.
The currency of Malaysia, divided into 100 sen.
Exposure to a chance loss, meaning something falling in quality, in quantity, or in value, that an insurance policy is written against.
An asset or liability whose value is exposed to movement in exchange rates or interest rates.
A pricing model in which the client shares the project's financial upside with the supplier, so both sides carry an interest in how it turns out.
The currency of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, and Oman, each divided into 100 subunits under local names.
The transport document evidencing that goods have been accepted for carriage by road haulier.
A semi-trailer that runs on tyres on the highway and on rails once steel wheel assemblies are fitted, in some designs by retracting the tyres onto bogies. Also called a bimodal trailer.
An EU measure barring new electrical and electronic equipment from the market where it contains more than permitted levels of certain hazardous substances, among them lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and two families of brominated flame retardant. It works alongside the rules on waste electrical equipment.
Why it matters. RoHS is a market access condition for anything electrical entering the EU, and compliance rests on supplier declarations you need to hold. It also drives the design of the product, not just its paperwork.
Vessels built so wheeled cargo can be driven aboard and off again over a hinged ramp, usually at the stern. The category takes in train and trailer ships, vehicle ferries, and ships carrying military equipment.
Why it matters. Ro-Ro suits anything self-propelled or on wheels, and it avoids the crane lift that break bulk needs. Booking is by lane metre rather than by container, so measure accordingly.
A negotiating commitment to dismantle trade-restrictive or distorting measures inconsistent with the multilateral rules, phasing them out or bringing them into line by an agreed date. It is normally paired with a standstill undertaking not to add new ones meanwhile.
Extending a maturing instrument such as a loan or deposit, extending a currency position by concluding a swap, or the periodic resetting of a floating interest rate against the prevailing benchmark on a medium-term loan.
A revolving line that can be drawn against up to an agreed limit, with repayments restoring the amount available.
The path between origin and destination for people, cargo, or a conveyance, and the act of designating which way a shipment will travel.
The chosen path between origin and destination, and the process of working out the most efficient one for a given shipment.
Why it matters. Routing decisions carry duty consequences as well as cost ones, since transshipment can break a direct shipment requirement under a preference program. Check both before optimizing for transit time.
Payment for using someone's intellectual property, normally an agreed percentage of the income it generates.
Why it matters. Royalties paid as a condition of sale are dutiable and must be added to customs value, which surprises importers who treat licensing and importing as separate matters. How the royalty is structured decides the treatment.
Cubeship Customs Support →The principle that everyone receives equal protection and is equally subject to the law, covering human rights alongside property and other rights. It binds government as well as private parties, shielding citizens from arbitrary state action and ensuring outcomes turn on law rather than discretion.
The rules determining which country a product originates in. Origin decides a shipment's eligibility for preferential duty treatment under trade agreements, and it also drives quota treatment and exposure to additional tariffs.
Why it matters. Preferential and non-preferential rules can give the same goods different origins, and each agreement writes its own product-specific rules. Qualifying under one says nothing about qualifying under another.
Tariff Refund Calculator →Advance written guidance an exporter, importer, or other interested party can obtain from customs on any question affecting the dutiable status of goods, requested from the appropriate customs office before the goods are imported.
220 terms in this group.
A voluntary social accountability standard certifying that a workplace meets international labor norms. It covers freedom from forced labor and from recruitment fees, child labor, health and safety with a joint worker and management committee, freedom of association, working hours, and pay, all supported by a documented management system that carries the requirements into daily operation.
Why it matters. Buyers increasingly ask suppliers to hold a social standard, and forced labor enforcement has made that a customs question as well as an ethical one. Audit records belong in your import file.
The Single Administrative Document, the standard EU customs declaration form used across import, export, and transit procedures.
The continuation sheet supplementing the Single Administrative Document where more than one item is being declared.
A statutory or regulatory provision reducing or removing a party's liability where it has acted in good faith and met defined standards.
An arrangement setting standards for U.S. companies handling personal data originating in Europe, created because European rules bar transfers to countries whose privacy protection is not judged adequate. It has since been replaced by successor frameworks.
Why it matters. Shipment data contains personal data: consignee contacts, driver details, customer addresses. Moving it across borders is a data protection question as much as a logistics one.
The multilateral rules permitting a country to impose temporary import controls to prevent injury to domestic industry, balanced against exporters' right not to be shut out of markets arbitrarily.
A transport document clause excluding the carrier's liability for whether the goods match the description given, used where the carrier could not verify the contents, as with a sealed container.
Why it matters. This clause is why a carrier will not answer for what was actually inside a container it never opened. Proving what you loaded falls to you, which is what makes the packing list and load photographs matter.
A transport document clause excluding the carrier's liability for the weight actually loaded where it had no means of verifying it.
A written contract under which a seller agrees to transfer property to a buyer at an agreed price on stated conditions.
An agent who represents, sells, or services goods on a seller's behalf.
A tax a state or municipality applies to goods at purchase, charged either at every change of hands, as with value added tax, or only once at a defined point of transfer.
The sum paid to salvors for saving property that was damaged or in danger during a maritime venture.
A settlement method under which the underwriter pays the gap between the sum insured and the net proceeds of selling the damaged goods. It is not the automatic result of selling damaged cargo to establish the extent of loss, and it applies properly only where the goods were justifiably sold short of destination.
What salvaged property fetches when sold, and by extension the part of the property recovered from a loss.
A third party that rescues, or helps rescue, a ship or its cargo from being lost at sea.
A bond denominated in yen and floated on the Japanese market by a borrower from outside Japan, subject to Japanese regulation, giving access to Japanese investment capital.
A restrictive measure imposed on a country, entity, or individual by an international body or group of states to influence conduct or policy.
Why it matters. Sanctions screening is strict liability and covers every party to a movement, not just the buyer. Lists change constantly, so screening once at onboarding is not enough.
Government restrictions prohibiting or limiting dealings with particular countries, regions, entities, or individuals, ranging from a full embargo to targeted measures against named parties or defined sectors.
Why it matters. Sanctions reach beyond the named party to entities it owns, and screening the name on the invoice alone is not enough. Ownership has to be traced.
A document attesting that a consignment of animal or plant products, particularly foodstuffs, is free of disease and pests.
The Saudi body responsible for setting national standards and measurement rules, with particular weight in electrical equipment and certain foods. Several of its standards have been taken up across the wider Gulf grouping.
Why it matters. Conformity certification is required before shipment for many products entering Saudi Arabia, and goods arriving without it are refused. Arrange it at the factory, not at the port.
A structured list of what a supplier will provide under a services agreement, described in enough detail for the provider to understand exactly what is required. It plays the role that specifications play where a product is involved.
Backed by a pledge of something valuable, so that payment is guaranteed against that asset.
A benchmark interest rate derived from actual overnight borrowing secured against U.S. Treasuries in the repurchase market. It replaced the London interbank offered rate, whose credibility was destroyed by rate manipulation, and rests on observed transactions rather than on submitted estimates.
Why it matters. Trade finance facilities written against the old benchmark have been converting to this one. Check what your facility references before a rate reset finds the gap.
Property pledged as collateral, stocks and bonds lodged with a creditor, evidence of a debt or property right, or a person guaranteeing another's obligation. In customs it means the money or bond posted to ensure duties and taxes on imported goods will be paid.
Under the ship and port facility security code, the baseline level at which minimum protective measures are maintained at all times.
The heightened level at which additional protective measures are maintained for a period because the risk of a security incident has risen.
The highest level, at which further specific measures are maintained for a limited period because a security incident is probable or imminent, even where the precise target is unknown.
Taking possession of property, and in customs the confiscation of goods for a violation such as counterfeiting, prohibited imports, or undeclared value.
Why it matters. Seized goods are rarely recovered and the penalty usually follows the seizure. Counterfeits and restricted commodities are where importers meet it most often.
Setting aside a fund to meet losses that a purchased policy would otherwise cover, with the money that would have gone on premiums building the reserve instead.
Why it matters. Self-insuring cargo works only where your loss experience is stable and you can absorb a total loss. It does nothing for general average, where you still have to post security before cargo is released.
Cover protecting a seller that has shipped on terms leaving insurance to the buyer, responding where the buyer's cover fails or falls short.
A market where goods are hard to obtain and pricing therefore reflects the seller's view of value rather than the buyer's.
The rate at which a bank will sell foreign currency or lend money.
In customs valuation, the total of general and administrative costs such as non-sales salaries, rent, and utilities; direct selling costs traceable to an individual unit, credit, warranty, and advertising among them; and indirect selling costs that support sales without attaching to any one unit.
Everyday shorthand for a semi-trailer, or for the tractor and semi-trailer combination together.
A bilateral U.S. and Japanese agreement, effective from 1991 and replacing an earlier version, aimed at opening the Japanese market in semiconductors to foreign suppliers and at deterring below-cost selling by Japanese producers into the U.S. and third markets.
An unpowered cargo trailer resting on wheels at one end and on a tractor unit at the other.
The ranking commercial officer at a U.S. embassy, reporting in country to the ambassador and carrying a counsellor title at larger posts. Commercial attachés and officers report to them, some posted to subordinate offices around the country.
Categories of goods for which European guaranteeing associations have withdrawn the international road transit guarantee, meaning they cannot move under that simplified procedure.
A cost that can be attributed to one specific part of an operation rather than shared across the whole.
A court taking control of property pending the outcome of proceedings, so it cannot be disposed of meanwhile.
An international, cross-industry numbering and barcoding standard identifying individual logistics units so they can be tracked and traced through the supply chain. Each code carries an extension digit that expands the available range, a company prefix, a serial reference, and a check digit calculated to catch keying errors.
Why it matters. Retailer compliance programs commonly require an SSCC label on every pallet, tied to the advance shipping notice. Getting the pairing wrong triggers chargebacks even when the goods are perfect.
To keep up the interest payments falling due on a loan, as distinct from repaying the principal.
A contract binding shippers and carriers to move cargo between named points on agreed terms, whether one party on each side or several, commonly called a service contract.
Why it matters. A service contract commits you to a minimum quantity in exchange for a rate, and shortfalls carry liquidated damages. Size the commitment against your realistic low case, not your forecast.
The pickup and delivery undertakings a carrier and shipper agree between them.
A contract or addendum stating, in terms that can be measured, what a supplier will deliver: the kind of service, how much of it, and to what standard. It usually addresses response time, availability, and satisfaction as much as volume.
A mark used in selling or advertising to identify a service and distinguish it from others. It differs from a trademark in that a trademark identifies goods. Protection varies by country and is unavailable in some, though the same laws often govern both.
A person or business supplying outsourced services. Words like contractor, provider, vendor, and partner get swapped about freely, though each can carry a particular connotation.
Economic activity that is largely intangible and often consumed as it is produced, covering transport, banking, insurance, tourism, telecommunications, advertising, entertainment, data processing, consulting, and licensing intellectual property. Services now account for the bulk of activity in advanced economies.
A burden on one piece of property benefiting the holder of an interest in another, as where an owner grants a right of way across their land to reach adjoining property.
The day on which a transaction has to be paid for.
A contract term making each provision independent of the others, so that a court can strike one clause without bringing down the whole agreement.
A major international inspection, verification, testing, and certification company operating a worldwide network of offices and laboratories across agriculture, minerals, energy, chemicals, life sciences, consumer goods, systems certification, and environmental services.
Why it matters. Independent pre-shipment inspection is what turns a supplier's assurance into evidence, and several countries require it as an import condition. It is cheaper than discovering the problem after the container lands.
Islamic law, drawn from the Quran and the recorded sayings and practice of the Prophet Muhammad. It covers moral and ethical conduct, ritual worship, personal and family status including marriage, divorce, and inheritance, and commercial dealings, and it shapes contract and finance practice in many markets.
Why it matters. Sharia-compliant finance avoids interest, which changes how trade credit is structured in parts of the Gulf and Southeast Asia. It also affects what may be imported, particularly food and alcohol.
A port-based representative for a line or tramp operator handling arrival and departure formalities, port clearance, fee payment, cargo work, and local provisioning.
Detaining a vessel by court process to secure a maritime claim, as distinct from seizing it to satisfy a judgment already given. International practice follows the convention on the arrest of seagoing ships.
Why it matters. Arresting the vessel is how a cargo claimant obtains security from a foreign shipowner with no local assets. It is also why owners post security quickly when a claim is credible.
An intermediary in shipping, acting variously as chartering agent negotiating terms for a charterer or owner, as a broker in the sale and purchase of vessels, as a ship's agent attending to a vessel and her crew in port, or as a loading broker attracting cargo to an owner's ships.
A business supplying vessels with provisions, stores, and equipment.
The person aboard, answerable to the master, responsible for the vessel's security, for putting the ship security plan into effect and keeping it current, and for liaising with the company and port facility security officers. The code does not prescribe who the role must fall to.
The plan setting out the measures applied aboard a vessel to protect people, cargo, cargo units, and ship's stores from a security incident.
The master-signed list of the individual consignments making up a vessel's cargo.
The documents a vessel must carry to satisfy the requirements of the ports she calls at and of international law, covering safety, public health, immigration, commerce, and customs.
The provisions a vessel carries for her own day-to-day operation, from food and medicines through to spare parts and consumables.
Cargo tendered by a single shipper on a single transport document, from one origin, moving at one time through a single discharge port to one consignee at one destination.
A sale in which the seller performs delivery by handing the goods to the nominated carrier rather than delivering them to the buyer. Under Incoterms 2020 the FCA, CPT, and CIP rules all work this way.
Why it matters. Under a shipment contract risk passes at origin even though the seller may still be paying the freight. Buyers reading CIP as delivered are the source of a great many disputes.
Incoterms Guide →The store of information covering one shipment, reflecting everything that happened at each stage of its life cycle.
A bill of lading notation recording that goods travelled on the vessel's deck rather than below it.
Why it matters. On-deck carriage carries higher risk and different insurance treatment, and many letters of credit prohibit it outright. If your contract requires under-deck stowage, the bill must evidence it.
The company or person consigning cargo to the consignee.
Air cargo the shipper has loaded into unit load devices itself rather than tendering loose for the carrier to build up.
The form many countries' export authorities require to document an export, giving value, description, and destination. In the United States it applied above set value thresholds and to any shipment needing an export licence regardless of value, and has since been replaced by electronic filing.
A form by which a shipper authorizes a carrier or forwarder to issue a transport document on its behalf, carrying the shipment details and the authority to sign in the shipper's name.
Why it matters. Whatever this document says is what appears on the bill of lading, and errors here propagate into the entry and the letter of credit presentation. It is worth checking rather than reusing last time's.
A clause recording that the shipper stuffed and counted the container's contents and the carrier neither checked nor verified them, protecting the carrier against a consignee's claim.
Markings applied to cartons and crates identifying the shipper, the destination port, and other particulars, conventionally divided between front marks and side marks.
The detail a shipper supplies covering the movement: shipper, consignee, party to be billed, commodity, pieces, weight, and cube.
The four interlocking markets that make up the shipping industry: the freight market where transport is bought and sold, the sale and purchase market for second-hand tonnage, the newbuilding market for vessels ordered from yards, and the demolition market where ships are scrapped.
Why it matters. Freight rates, vessel prices, and scrapping move together, which is why a scrapping surge signals capacity tightening ahead. Watching the cycle explains rate direction better than any single index.
The shipper's instruction to the carrier to forward the goods, conventionally taken from the third copy of the transport document.
The physical place where cargo begins moving toward its destination.
The total weight of a consignment including moisture content, wrappings, crates, boxes, and inner packaging, but not substantial outer equipment such as cargo vans.
A bond issued in Japan by a foreign entity but denominated in a currency other than yen, as against a samurai bond, which is yen-denominated.
An extension covering defined hazards while a shipment is ashore, including collision, derailment, overturning, sprinkler leakage, windstorm, earthquake, flood, and the collapse of docks or wharves.
A bill of lading that refers to the carrier's terms of carriage rather than printing them out, usually leaving the reverse blank.
Why it matters. Banks generally accept the short form unless a credit says otherwise, but the omitted terms still bind you. Get a copy of the conditions once, for each carrier you actually use.
The position of a currency trader that has sold more foreign bills than it holds to cover those sales.
Controls placed on exports of scarce commodities to protect the domestic economy from excessive drain and the inflationary effect of meeting foreign demand. Crude oil and unprocessed western red cedar are the long-standing U.S. examples.
A weight measure of 2,000 pounds, also called the net ton.
A notation that a consignment weighed less on arrival than the transport document stated, indicating loss along the way.
A deficiency between the quantity shown as shipped and the quantity actually delivered.
An instrument payable as soon as it is presented, as against a draft drawn after sight, which falls due a set period following presentation.
A service maintaining unbroken responsibility for custody in transit, so named because everyone handling the shipment signs for it at each stage.
An independent undertaking to pay or accept given by the advising bank alongside the issuing bank's commitment, but without any confirmation instruction from that issuing bank. It is purely an arrangement between the beneficiary and the confirming bank.
Why it matters. Silent confirmation gets you the protection of a confirmed credit where the issuing bank refuses to authorize confirmation. The cost is higher and the arrangement is yours alone, not part of the credit.
For customs valuation, goods produced in the same country by the same producer that closely resemble the imported goods in materials and characteristics, are commercially interchangeable with them, and perform the same functions.
The four subjects and working groups set up at the 1996 ministerial conference: transparency in government procurement, trade facilitation covering customs matters, trade and investment, and trade and competition.
The multi-purpose EU customs form that replaced a range of separate declarations. It is not needed for movements inside the single market but is used for import, export, and transit where goods leave or enter the customs territory or move under a transit procedure.
The proposal, under U.S. export control reform, to merge the separate dual-use and munitions schedules into one list administered under a common framework.
The 1987 treaty amendment providing the legal and procedural basis for completing the single European market. It revised the founding treaty and extended majority voting in the Council across many decisions, particularly those needed to build the single market and a common financial market.
A vessel losing buoyancy and going under. She need not disappear: a ship submerged as far as the depth allows counts as sunk.
The Standard International Trade Classification, a United Nations system for classifying traded goods for statistical comparison across countries, distinct from the tariff nomenclature used to assess duty.
A stripped-down trailer frame that carries a container without a deck beneath it, secured by twist locks at the corners.
A portable platform raised on two parallel runners so forklift tines can pass underneath, made from wood, plastic, fiberglass, steel, or aluminium. It differs from a pallet in being taller and lacking the cross members underneath.
Stock keeping unit: the identifier for the smallest quantity of an item that inventory can receive or issue as a unit, be that a finished product, a component, or a raw material.
Why it matters. Customs classification attaches to the product, not the SKU, but a clean SKU-to-tariff-code mapping is what makes correct entries repeatable. Building it once saves arguing about it every shipment.
The gear cargo is placed in to be hoisted aboard or ashore.
The water space where a vessel berths between two piers, and in insurance the document a broker takes to underwriters to place a risk.
Swapping in a fresh driver for one who has reached the maximum driving time regulations allow.
A tough plastic or fiberboard sheet that goods are stacked on in place of a pallet, handled with a push-pull attachment on a forklift.
Why it matters. Slip sheets save the height and weight a pallet takes up, which can add a tier of cargo to a container. They also sidestep the wood packaging treatment rules entirely.
A dry commodity such as coal mixed with liquid so it can be pumped through a pipeline.
The independent U.S. agency advocating for small business with aid, counselling, and protection. Its international trade office runs programs encouraging smaller firms into exporting and coordinates with the commerce and agriculture departments and the export credit agency.
A service guaranteeing delivery of small parcels within stated express limits, same day or next day, subject to size and weight caps. Passenger airlines often accept such packages at ticket counters for collection at destination baggage claim, and many operators run door to door around the clock.
A card-sized device carrying a microprocessor able to hold and move data, used for identification, personal records, or stored value, with access protected by a code and the option of wiping itself after repeated wrong entries. It differs from a magnetic stripe or barcode card, which holds nothing and depends on a network lookup.
A container fitted with devices that report to a central system: position anywhere in the world, internal and external temperature, exposure to light, radiation, or chemicals, and inventory data read from tags on the cartons inside.
Why it matters. Live temperature and door data is what makes a cold chain claim provable rather than arguable. For high-value cargo the same feed shortens the gap between a problem and a response.
A pallet carrying a radio tag so it can be tracked inside a facility or in transit.
A container seal combined with an electronic device that reports the container's position continuously and alerts monitors if the seal is broken or tampered with.
Moving goods or people across a border without permission, whether between countries or across internal boundaries where duties differ.
The earlier European arrangement tying participating currencies together within narrow bands around agreed central rates while letting them move jointly against outside currencies. It was the first step toward a shared European currency.
The range of actions beyond voting through which citizens, consumers, shareholders, and organizations hold governments and businesses to account on social, political, economic, and ethical questions, from an individual refusing to buy prison-made goods to a company refusing to source from factories using child labor.
Why it matters. What began as voluntary is now enforced at the border, with forced labor findings leading to detention of goods. Supply chain mapping has become a customs capability, not just an ethics one.
A human rights body established in 1996 to develop and implement socially responsible workplace standards, promoting standards systems modelled on the international quality frameworks. Its workplace standard and verification system certifies facilities against defined labor criteria.
The Spanish and Latin American designation for a private limited company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
The Spanish and Latin American designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The Portuguese designation for a private limited company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
The Swiss designation for a private limited company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
The Italian and Swiss designation for an incorporated cooperative whose members carry limited liability unless its articles say otherwise.
The Italian designation for a limited partnership where at least one partner carries general liability while at least one other's liability is capped.
The Italian designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability.
The general French designation for a company, partnership, or association, used across France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
The French-language designation for a private limited company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
The French-language designation for a joint stock company whose shareholders carry limited personal liability, used in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
The Belgian and Swiss designation for an incorporated cooperative whose members carry limited liability unless its articles provide otherwise.
The Belgian designation for a private limited company whose shareholders carry limited liability.
The French and Luxembourg designation for a partnership limited by shares, in which the limited partners' liability is capped at their subscription.
The French and Luxembourg designation for a limited partnership where at least one partner carries general personal liability and at least one other's liability is limited.
The designation used in France and Luxembourg for a general partnership, every partner carrying joint and several liability.
A term in a documentary credit that the seller cannot satisfy on its own, leaving compliance dependent on some act by the buyer.
Why it matters. A soft clause quietly converts an irrevocable credit into something the buyer controls, since it can simply withhold the inspection certificate or countersignature the credit requires. Read every credit for conditions only the buyer can fulfil.
A loan on generous terms, typically low or no interest and a long repayment period.
A Japanese regional financial institution serving mainly smaller businesses.
Finding and acquiring everything an organization needs to operate: raw materials, components, machinery, supplies, labor, management, facilities, communications, and utilities, along with design, legal, accounting, and other services.
A customs union dating from 1910 covering Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Eswatini. Goods move freely within it behind a common external tariff, with excise duties and rebate provisions aligned and customs revenue shared among members by formula, which for the smaller members is a significant part of national income.
The South American bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, working toward a common external tariff and freer trade in services.
The southernmost group of South American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. All but Chile make up the Southern Common Market.
Borrowing that carries the guarantee of a sovereign state's government.
The risk that a national government will default on what it owes.
A state-owned investment fund holding financial assets such as shares, bonds, property, and precious metals, set up to stabilize an economy, preserve surplus revenue for future generations, or fund defined public policy aims.
An area within a country granted more market-oriented rules than apply nationally, where firms may generally import materials and components and re-export finished goods free of duty and tax. It goes by many names, among them free trade zone, export processing zone, free port, and foreign trade zone.
Why it matters. Zone status affects duty and tax, not origin. Goods finished in a zone still take the origin of wherever they were substantially transformed.
The Canadian legislation protecting domestic producers from injury caused by dumped imports or by goods subsidized by a foreign government.
A policy issued to cover one particular shipment, recording the vessel and sailing date, origin and destination, the commodity, a description of the units, the sum insured, the marks and numbers, and who loss is payable to, usually the assured or order so that the document can be endorsed onward.
Why it matters. This is the document a bank or buyer will accept as evidence of cover, which a declaration or bordereau will not satisfy. Under CIF and CIP the seller has to hand one over.
Rates applying to traffic moving under particular conditions, generally at only a handful of points. They take in container rates, exception ratings, surface-air combinations, and import rates.
The group of U.S. preference programs offering duty benefits on goods from designated countries, covering African, Andean, and Caribbean regional schemes alongside the general preference program for developing countries.
Why it matters. Preference programs lapse and get renewed, sometimes retroactively, so entries filed during a lapse may be refundable later. Flagging eligible entries while a program is dormant is how importers recover that duty.
Tariff Refund Calculator →The U.S. Treasury list of individuals, organizations, countries, and regions that U.S. persons and companies are barred from dealing with. Firms must screen against it continuously, checking both prospective and existing counterparties before transacting.
Why it matters. Screening once at onboarding is not enough, because designations are added constantly and can catch an existing customer overnight. Rescreen before every shipment and payment.
A rate applying to particular classes of goods, usually those moving in volume, and normally set below the general commodity rate for the same city pair.
A remedy under which a court orders the breaching party to carry out its contractual obligations rather than simply pay damages.
Duty stated as a fixed amount per unit of weight, quantity, or other measure rather than as a percentage of value.
Why it matters. A specific rate hits low-value goods hardest, since the duty stays the same however cheap the item. It also means declaring quantity accurately matters as much as declaring value.
A clear statement in writing of the technical requirements a material, product, or service being bought or performed must meet, including how it has to perform.
A sufficient interest in a dispute to entitle a party to bring it before a court. A buyer harmed by a seller's breach has it; a friend of that buyer, who was never party to the contract and lost nothing, does not.
A negotiating commitment not to introduce new trade-restrictive measures while a round of talks is under way, normally paired with a rollback of existing ones.
The right-hand side of a vessel when facing forward.
The doctrine binding courts to follow decisions already made in comparable cases, the mechanism that gives common law systems their consistency.
Bodies governments establish to import, export, or produce particular goods, including state import and export monopolies and marketing boards, along with private firms granted special or exclusive trading privileges.
Countries that relied on government bodies rather than private firms to conduct foreign trade. Some joined the postwar trading system early, others acceded later as their economies opened.
The former name of the U.S. program supporting trade missions organized by state agencies and industry groups, now run as the Certified Trade Missions Program.
A written statement of what a contractor must accomplish to satisfy a contract, taking in the scope of services, the other deliverables, and the terms and conditions, so client and contractor agree exactly what is to be done.
The final digits of a tariff code, used by the national statistics agency to gather trade data rather than to set the duty rate.
Why it matters. Getting the statistical suffix wrong does not change the duty but does misreport your trade, and it can flag an entry for review. The rate-setting digits come earlier in the code.
A rule requiring certain contracts to be in writing before a court will enforce them. Parties may agree orally to transfer land, for instance, but a court may refuse to enforce that agreement or award damages for its breach.
The list of people and entities convicted of violating, or conspiring to violate, U.S. arms export legislation, who are consequently barred from any direct or indirect participation in exporting defense articles or technical data.
A bank-issued indemnity to an ocean carrier covering any loss from releasing goods to the buyer without the original bill of lading being surrendered.
Why it matters. A bank-backed indemnity is what makes a carrier willing to release against missing originals. It converts the carrier's risk into the bank's, and then into yours under the counter-indemnity.
The currency of the United Kingdom, and separately an alloy of silver 925 parts per thousand pure, marked 925 or sterling.
The rear end of a vessel or aircraft, opposite the bow.
The person or firm in charge of loading and discharging vessels in port, and by extension the dock workers doing it.
Inventory available for despatch at a given moment, most often meaning finished goods.
An instruction to buy or sell a currency once the rate passes a stated limit, executed at the next available rate, which in a fast market can differ considerably from the limit itself.
Holding goods in a warehouse, and the charge made for doing so.
A charge on goods left on the dock beyond the free time allowed.
Halting freight at a point between origin and destination to store it and forward it onward later.
Why it matters. Deliberately breaking transit can void cargo cover, since marine policies attach only while goods are in ordinary course of transit. Tell the underwriter before you do it.
Moving goods right through to the consignee's premises, normally by truck for the final leg.
The provisions and supplies a vessel carries for her own operation, as distinct from the cargo she carries for others.
Arranging and securing cargo aboard a vessel for the voyage.
Why it matters. How cargo is stowed decides whether it arrives intact, and poor stowage is treated as insufficient packing under a cargo policy. It is one of the few risks you control from the origin end.
Directions from the shipper about how cargo is to be stowed, such as requiring under-deck carriage for goods that weather would damage, or amidships placement for cargo sensitive to the greater motion at bow and stern.
A diagram showing where cargo or containers sit, or are to sit, aboard a vessel.
A tall wheeled machine that straddles a container to lift, move, and stack it at sea, road, and rail terminals. Larger models handle fully loaded boxes three or four high, and their cost confines them to high-volume terminals.
A non-negotiable bill naming the party that is to receive the goods and obliging the carrier to deliver to that party alone. It cannot be transferred by endorsement.
Why it matters. A straight bill suits prepaid shipments because it is not transferable and delivery is owed to the named consignee. Whether the carrier will release without an original surrendered depends on the governing law and its own terms, so confirm rather than assume. It gives the seller no security if payment has not been made.
A vessel going aground and remaining fast for a meaningful period. Merely touching bottom while carrying on without losing way, commonly called touch and go, does not count.
An agreement between parties in the same or complementary industries to pursue defined goals together, whether growing market share, cutting cost, developing products, or entering new markets.
The groupings used to indicate how tightly a commodity is controlled for export purposes, encoded within the control classification number.
A policy provision covering loss arising from strikes, riots, and civil commotion, usually bought as an extension rather than included in the base cover.
Why it matters. Port strikes are a routine disruption, and standard cargo wordings exclude them. The extension is cheap relative to the exposure on a congested lane.
The rate fixed in an option contract at which the holder may buy under a call or sell under a put.
A policy endorsement extending cover to damage, theft, pilferage, breakage, or destruction of insured property caused directly by strikers, locked-out workers, or anyone joining a labor disturbance, riot, or civil commotion.
Why it matters. Base cargo wordings exclude these perils, so the endorsement is what makes port strikes and unrest recoverable. Confirm it is on the policy before shipping into a disrupted lane.
A shipment sold and resold repeatedly while still in transit between the place of shipment and the final destination. It is routine in commodity trading, where cargoes of oil, grain, and ore change hands several times before the vessel berths. Several Incoterms® 2020 rules accommodate the practice by letting the seller instead procure goods already delivered.
Why it matters. Only the first seller in the string actually ships; everyone after simply procures goods already shipped. Getting that distinction into the contract avoids an obligation nobody downstream can perform.
Taking cargo out of a container, also known as devanning or unstuffing.
Talks begun in July 1989 to identify and resolve the structural problems keeping trade between the United States and Japan out of balance. Each government named features of the other's economy that it considered obstacles to trade and to correcting the current account gap.
An agreement between a party bound by an existing contract and an outside party, under which that outside party supplies part or all of what the original contract calls for.
A person or firm engaged to supply part or all of the goods or services a prime contractor owes under an existing contract.
An insurer's entitlement, once it has paid a loss, to step into whatever rights the assured held against third parties. In cargo this usually means pursuing the carriers that handled the shipment.
Why it matters. Because the insurer inherits your recovery rights, anything you do that weakens them — signing a clean delivery receipt, missing a claim deadline — can reduce or void your own claim. Note exceptions on delivery and file notice promptly.
A document a cargo owner signs to acknowledge payment of a claim and to assign its rights of recovery against any third party over to the insurer.
A company in which another firm holds more than half the voting stock.
A grant, bounty, or economic benefit a government confers on producers for making, producing, or exporting an article, generally to improve their competitive position. Export subsidies depend on goods being exported; domestic subsidies attach to production regardless of destination.
Why it matters. A foreign subsidy is what triggers countervailing duty, which lands on the importer of record rather than the subsidized producer. Check whether a commodity is under CVD order before you commit to a price.
The test for country of origin: goods acquire the origin of the last country where processing turned them into a new and different article with a distinct name, character, or use.
Why it matters. Origin follows transformation, not shipping route, so goods finished in a third country can still carry the origin of where the real work happened. This is what decides whether Section 301 or an antidumping order applies to you.
A special-purpose foreign trade zone set up as part of a zone project to serve a purpose an existing zone cannot accommodate. Subzones commonly exist for a single company and are often designated within that company's own facility.
Why it matters. A subzone lets a manufacturer get zone treatment at its own plant instead of moving goods to a general-purpose site. That is what makes inverted tariff and duty deferral benefits workable at production scale.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →A provision in marine and inland marine policies obliging the policyholder, once a loss occurs, to do everything necessary to protect the property from further loss and to pursue recovery from whoever caused it. The insurer undertakes to reimburse the reasonable cost of those efforts.
Why it matters. This is a duty, not an option: failing to mitigate can cut your recovery. The upside is that the reasonable cost of salvaging, reconditioning, or storing damaged cargo is itself recoverable.
The largest cargo vessel able to transit the Suez Canal. The limit has shifted over time: before 1967 it stood at about 80,000 dwt, and after the canal reopened in 1975 with substantial modifications it rose to roughly 150,000 dwt. The canal has no locks.
A privately owned facility licensed by the Canadian border agency to control, briefly store, and examine imported goods until they are released or exported again. Its purpose is to let goods travel under customs control past the port where they arrived, reaching a licensed site for temporary storage while clearance is pending. Licences come in several classes according to what the facility handles.
A twenty-day review carried out right after an antidumping petition is filed, to establish whether the petition sets out enough information on sales below fair value and on the injury or threatened injury those sales cause a domestic industry.
A provision added because U.S. legislators felt the ordinary Section 301 process confined attention too narrowly to the market access problems of single sectors or firms. It laid down procedures for identifying and tackling, within three years, designated priority trade restrictions of a systemic kind. The authority lapsed on 30 May 1990.
A variant of the deductive value method of customs valuation, applied where the imported goods are further processed in the country of import before being sold.
A right to construct on the surface of land belonging to someone else. A landowner might grant it to a developer who agrees to build in return for paying annual rent.
The official U.S. distributor of government documents, publications, and books, operating through the government printing office and publishing a catalog of periodicals and subscription services.
A for-hire air carrier operating with no fixed schedule or assigned route, providing service by charter or under contract.
Assurances that importing countries will continue to obtain raw materials and other essential imports on fair and reasonable terms, generally understood to require explicit limits on using export embargoes as a foreign policy tool.
The chain of facilities, equipment, management, and technology moving goods or services from their source to the end consumer. For physical products that takes in factories, warehouses, distribution centers, the trucks, freighters, vessels, and trains that carry them, the stores or websites that sell them, and the computer systems tying it together. The processes and links between those facilities matter as much as the facilities themselves.
Short-term credit extended to buyers by a financial institution sitting between buyer and seller, also called supplier finance and essentially reverse factoring. The exporter ships on open account, the importer approves the invoice, and the exporter then sells that receivable to the bank at a discount for immediate cash. It is reported to account for nearly a fifth of trade finance activity.
Why it matters. Because the discount is priced off the buyer's credit rather than the seller's, a small supplier shipping to a large buyer usually gets cash cheaper this way than through its own bank.
Integrating efficiently the processes, facilities, and technologies through which goods or services move from source to end consumer. Done well it links every party in the chain so that the right products get produced and arrive where they are needed, when they are needed, at the lowest cost.
An amount added on top of the usual or customary charge, applied for a stated reason such as fuel cost, currency movement, or congestion.
A bond, guaranty, or other security protecting a party against another's default in payment, improper performance of a contract, or misconduct in office.
Why it matters. Every U.S. import entry needs a bond from an approved surety, and the surety's underwriting appetite can gate your ability to import at all. Sufficiency gets reviewed as duty exposure rises, particularly under antidumping orders.
An extra duty or tax applied as a temporary emergency measure, usually on imports that are injuring or threatening to injure domestic producers of similar or directly competing goods.
An examination of a vessel's condition to establish seaworthiness or value, or of property that has been damaged, to work out what caused the damage, what kind it is, how extensive it is, and how to repair or replace it. The word also covers the resulting report.
Why it matters. On a significant cargo loss, arrange survey before the goods are moved or repacked. A surveyor's report written after the evidence is disturbed is much harder to settle a claim on.
A eurodollar bond issued by a Japanese corporation into the Japanese market for Japanese investors.
A decision to halt an antidumping investigation where exporters accounting for essentially all of the merchandise agree either to stop exporting to the United States or to raise prices promptly enough to eliminate the dumping margin. It may happen any time before a final determination, and only where the agreement can be effectively monitored and is found to be in the public interest.
Where a preliminary finding of dumping or subsidization is affirmative, or a final determination is affirmative after a negative preliminary one, entries of the covered merchandise stop liquidating from the notice date onward, whether entered directly or taken out of warehouse for consumption. In the meantime the border agency must collect a cash deposit or take a posted security.
Why it matters. Suspended entries stay open for years, and the eventual rate can differ sharply from the deposit. Budget for the difference rather than treating the deposit as the final duty.
A pattern of economic growth in which resources, natural ones above all, are managed so as to meet human needs both now and indefinitely into the future.
A spot purchase of currency, of fixed or floating rate funds, or of assets, paired with a simultaneous forward sale, or the same transaction in reverse.
Damage caused when humid air inside a container or hold condenses onto cargo as the temperature falls.
Why it matters. Container rain is one of the most common ocean cargo losses and it is preventable with desiccants and proper liners. Underwriters often treat it as insufficient packing rather than a covered peril, so prevention beats claiming.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a cooperative founded in Brussels in 1973 to standardize global data communications links and provide a shared language for international financial transactions. It runs secure standardized messaging services and interface software for thousands of financial institutions across some two hundred countries, carrying the messages behind letters of credit and payments.
A countertrade structure in which the seller extends credit and then passes that credit on to a third party.
A locomotive used to shift railcars about a yard or terminal.
A firm supplying carriers with specialized terminal services: switching, terminal trackage, bridges, or ferries. Some also run their own cargo and passenger operations.
A U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security service letting exporters follow the status of their license and classification applications online.
157 terms in this group.
A liquid bulk vessel built specifically for crude oil. They range widely in size, the largest being enormous. The deck is covered with the pipework and pumps used to shift oil between ship and shore or between holds. Every modern one is double-hulled to limit spills in a collision, loading by gravity or shore pump and discharging with onboard pumps.
How fast stock moves through a cycle, usually expressed as turns per year. The same measure can be applied to how quickly goods sell in retail or distribution, how fast they travel the whole supply chain, or how long they sit between receiving and shipping docks.
An EU customs code entered on the Single Administrative Document to show transit status for non-EU goods that have not been released into free circulation.
An EU customs code entered on the Single Administrative Document for goods already in free circulation that move by surface transport between EU countries by way of an EFTA country.
An EU customs code entered on the Single Administrative Document for goods subject to control under the Common Agricultural Policy.
A list of people and firms barred from sending or receiving American goods and technology. A denial may cover controlled commodities only, or extend across the board to exports of any destination.
Abbreviation for Transit Accompanying Document, the paper travelling with goods moving under an EU transit procedure.
A written record of freight as it is loaded or discharged, noting quantities, descriptions, and marks.
Why it matters. The tally is the primary evidence of what was actually handed over, and it is where a shortage first surfaces. Keep the signed copy — reconstructing counts after the fact rarely convinces a carrier.
A tractor or semitrailer fitted with a closely spaced pair of rear axles.
A vessel for holding, storing, or moving bulk liquid or gas, typically a tank set inside a frame built to standard ten, twenty, or forty foot container dimensions. Some are divided internally into separate compartments.
A trailer, barge, container, or vessel purpose-built to move liquids in bulk, among them crude and refined oil, liquid chemicals, cooking oil, and fruit juice.
A tank built into a railcar frame for carrying bulk liquids. Typical loads include gasoline, heating oil, alcohol, industrial chemicals, acids, clay slurry, corn syrup, and other foodstuffs. Cars are built with linings and coatings matched to the product to protect the shell.
A freight rate that rises with distance but less than proportionately, so the cost per mile falls as the haul lengthens.
A tax a government levies on imported goods, and by extension the published schedule setting out those rates. The word also covers a carrier's published schedule of freight rates and charges.
Why it matters. Both senses turn up in the same conversation, so be explicit about which you mean: a customs tariff changes your duty, a carrier tariff changes your freight. They are unrelated documents.
The U.S. statute, first enacted in 1930 and amended many times since, that imposes duty on imported articles and sets out the schedules of rates for particular merchandise.
Why it matters. Nearly every U.S. customs rule you deal with hangs off this act: entry, classification, valuation, marking, penalties, and forced labor. Section numbers cited in rulings refer to it.
The change in the price of a currency option for each one percent change in implied volatility.
The methods multinational firms use to reduce or defer tax. Many are well established, though whether a given technique is lawful depends on the jurisdiction.
A country offering low tax rates and other inducements to foreign individuals and businesses. Research suggests roughly one country in seven qualifies, that such places are typically small and wealthy, and that well governed, well regulated states are both likelier to become havens and likelier to succeed at it.
An agreement between the United States and a country designated under the Caribbean Basin recovery legislation, broadly an expanded form of the information exchange article found in a bilateral income tax treaty. The United States holds comparable agreements with most major trading partners, and each imposes reciprocal obligations on the signatories.
Voluntary bodies of industry and government representatives advising the U.S. commerce department on technical and export control questions: evaluating technical issues, assessing worldwide availability, use, and production of a technology, and reviewing licensing procedures for particular industries. Committees cover areas such as materials, biotechnology, computer systems, electronics, and sensors.
Studying past price and volume behavior in a market, usually with charts, to forecast where prices go next. In currency dealing it is a common basis for short-term rate forecasts.
Regulations, standards, testing, and certification requirements applied to imported goods. They can serve legitimate ends such as protecting health or the environment, but unreasonable restrictions or added costs make them barriers, leaving foreign products at a competitive disadvantage.
Why it matters. A TBT rarely shows up as a duty line, so it gets missed at quoting time. Confirm which certifications and test reports a destination requires before you ship, not after the goods are held.
Moving knowledge developed in one place to another where it is put to practical use. It travels many ways: freely, through journals, conferences, the movement of experts, and technical assistance programs; illicitly, through industrial espionage; or commercially, through patents, blueprints, industrial processes, and the operations of multinationals.
Why it matters. Under U.S. rules, releasing controlled technology to a foreign national counts as an export even if it never leaves the country. An engineering email or a plant tour can require a license.
A carnet issued for the temporary importation of commercial samples or professional equipment into Taiwan. TECRO stands for Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, and AIT for American Institute in Taiwan.
An electronic movement of funds from one bank to another, usually made at a customer's instruction.
The science and technology of telecommunications, and specifically of converting speech and other sound into electrical or digital signals that can travel by wire, fiber, or radio and be turned back into sound at the far end.
Teleprinter exchange: printed messages sent between teleprinters over public telecommunications networks. The machines were bulky, noisy character printers fed from a continuous paper roll and working like electric typewriters. Fax, then email and networks such as the interbank messaging system, made them obsolete.
A message from the carrier's origin office to its destination office confirming that the shipper surrendered all original bills of lading, authorizing release of the cargo without any original being presented at destination.
Why it matters. A telex release is what keeps cargo moving when originals are still in a courier bag, but it also gives up the seller's control of the goods. Only instruct it once you have been paid.
Ground procedures protecting air cargo from the temperature swings it meets on the apron and in terminals. A freighter cabin holds perishables well in flight, but growth in perishable air cargo forced new handling methods to prevent spoilage at origin and destination, where ambient conditions can differ sharply from the cabin.
Why it matters. Most cold chain failures happen on the ground, not in the air. When you book perishables, ask what the handler does between truck and aircraft, since that gap is where the temperature record breaks.
Bringing articles into the country under a conditional bond where they are not brought in to be sold, nor sent on approval with a view to sale, on the undertaking that they will be exported or destroyed within a set period.
Why it matters. TIB defers duty entirely, but the bond is conditional: miss the export or destruction deadline and you face liquidated damages, commonly set at double the estimated duty though the amount follows the bond and the category. Diary the date the moment the entry is filed, and file for an extension before it passes, not after.
A small craft attending a larger vessel, either supplying provisions and carrying passengers between ship and shore in port, or delivering provisions to a ship at sea.
Another name for a time draft: an instrument payable at a fixed or determinable future date rather than on presentation.
The place where a rail, ship, air, or truck line ends and cargo or passengers are loaded, unloaded, and transferred, often taking in storage, offices, and repair facilities.
A charge for services carried out at a terminal, covering things like loading, unloading, stevedoring, warehousing, and drayage.
A cut in freight charges or a reduced rate given because the shipper or consignee agrees to drop off or collect the shipment at the carrier's own terminal.
A fee ocean carriers charge shippers for moving containers between the terminal and the vessel. Carriers once folded terminal costs into the ocean freight rate; since THCs appeared, the freight rate covers port to port only, with a separate THC at each end for terminal use.
Why it matters. THC is billed at both origin and destination and is a frequent source of quote disputes, because a rate quoted as all-in may not include it. Confirm which end you are paying before booking.
The business responsible for running a terminal and its facilities.
A document permitting a carrier collecting or delivering freight to enter a terminal.
A document that serves as the delivering carrier's proof of delivery and the terminal operator's verification that cargo or equipment was received.
How much a country's exports will buy in imports. It is measured by comparing export prices against import prices, and the terms of trade improve when the same volume of exports buys a greater volume of imports.
Force or violence used unlawfully, by individuals, groups, or governments, against people or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, a civilian population, or part of one, in pursuit of political, religious, ideological, or social aims. It can take the form of murder, kidnapping, hijacking, bombing, theft, fraud, and attacks on computer systems.
Twenty-foot equivalent unit: a standard twenty-foot ocean container, and the yardstick used to express the capacity of containers, vessels, and terminals. A forty-foot box counts as two TEU.
Why it matters. Vessel and terminal capacity is quoted in TEU, but your cost is usually per box, so a 40ft move is one unit to you and two to them. Watch which basis a rate or a congestion statistic is using.
The rate at which an option's premium changes as time passes, expressed per unit of time.
A right enforceable by lawsuit to get back goods, money, a debt, or damages. A seller owed payment it has not received holds one: the entitlement to obtain that payment through the courts.
European rules governing meat imports on sanitary grounds, requiring that each plant wishing to export be individually inspected and certified by European veterinarians.
The fourth-ranking officer aboard a merchant ship. The role covers bridge watch, laying and following the ship's course, tracking her position, working the radar and radios, and looking after the safety, firefighting, and small boat equipment. It is the third rung of six on the way to command, after ordinary and able seaman and before second mate, chief mate, and captain.
An outside provider engaged to run some or all of a company's logistics, typically warehousing, transport management, and fulfilment.
A dated term for developing countries, chiefly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as distinct from both the industrialized market economies and the former communist bloc.
Someone who gains from a contract without being party to it. A bank lending a business owner the funds to buy particular property benefits from the sale contract between that owner and the seller without having signed it.
In letter of credit practice, documents showing someone other than the credit's beneficiary as the party who consigned the goods. Banks will take third-party transport documents.
Why it matters. Third-party documents are normal where a trader buys and resells, but a credit can prohibit them outright. Check that term before you plan to ship from your supplier's name.
Cover protecting the insured against claims brought by others for injury or damage, in other words liability insurance rather than cover on the insured's own property.
An adversary's capability, intention, method, or warning of intent to harm people or property, and more broadly any circumstance, event, or weakness capable of causing harm. Targets can include people, organizations, companies, governments, facilities, critical infrastructure, computer and information systems, food and water supplies, and the environment.
One bill of lading covering receipt of cargo at origin through to delivery to the final consignee across two or more modes of transport.
Why it matters. A through bill puts one carrier's name on the whole journey, which simplifies claims but means the liability limit of the leg where loss occurred may still apply. Ask which regime governs each leg.
A rate covering carriage from origin to destination, either as a single joint rate or as two or more rates combined.
How many units or what tonnage passes through a container facility, port, or warehouse in a given period. It is derived from units received, units shipped, and units still on hand.
The smallest increment by which a quoted price can move, known in currency markets as a pip.
Grants or concessional loans, on their own or bundled with export credits, given on condition that the money is spent on goods or services from the donor country.
A loan from a government agency requiring the foreign borrower to spend what it receives inside the lender's own country.
A platform trailer built to haul raw timber from logging sites to sawmills, barges, or ocean vessels. It is essentially a flatbed or chassis fitted with very rigid vertical stakes around the perimeter, the logs held in place by those stakes together with chains and tighteners. Dimensions depend on the road access at the logging site.
Arbitrage that exploits a price difference between two delivery dates for the same instrument rather than between two markets.
A freight, cargo, or courier standard that specifies or guarantees delivery on a named day or time, or inside an agreed number of days from collection.
Money placed with a bank for a set period at an agreed interest rate. On larger sums the maturity and rate are usually open to negotiation.
An instrument payable at a fixed or determinable future date rather than on presentation.
Why it matters. Accepting a time draft is what creates the credit period, and once accepted it becomes an obligation independent of any dispute about the goods. Check the tenor before accepting.
What an option is worth when its intrinsic value is nil, reflecting only the chance that the underlying instrument moves enough to give it intrinsic value later.
A document proving legal ownership of goods or of real estate, and by extension any documentary right to legal possession, whether or not it exists on paper.
Why it matters. Title, risk, and the Incoterm are three separate things, and Incoterms say nothing about when title passes. Put a title clause in the sale contract or the point of transfer is left to whichever law governs.
Wording on a financial instrument or document of title marking it negotiable and transferable. On a bill of lading it means the named party can pass the document, and with it control of the goods, to someone else by endorsement.
Why it matters. An order bill is the seller's leverage: whoever holds the endorsed original controls release. Consigning to order of the issuing bank is what makes a documentary credit secure.
The seventh round of multilateral negotiations under the postwar trade agreement, running from 1973 to November 1979. It produced an improved legal framework for world trade, making preferential tariff and non-tariff treatment for and among developing countries a permanent feature, and codes on non-tariff measures covering subsidies, dumping, valuation, licensing, standards, and procurement.
A swap in which the near leg settles on the business day after the trade is struck and the far leg on the day after that, which is the ordinary spot value date.
A unit of weight equal to 2,240 pounds or about 1,016 kilograms, also called the long ton.
One ton of cargo carried one kilometer, a unit most often used in air cargo statistics.
The French spelling of ton, used particularly in air cargo to mean a metric ton of 1,000 kilograms, about 2,204.6 pounds.
A wager dressed as a policy, setting a target for total world shipping tonnage lost in a calendar year and paying out if that figure was reached. It was not lawful insurance, there being no insurable interest, so such documents were often marked to say the policy itself proved interest. Lloyd's banned them in the 1970s.
The mean level of stock held over a given period. Technically it is the sum of average normal-use inventory, average lead-time inventory, and buffer stock.
Looking at transport, warehousing, inventory, and customer service together as one system, so that the cost of each and the way they trade off against each other are assessed as a whole.
Why it matters. Cutting freight spend in isolation usually raises inventory or service cost somewhere else. The point of the exercise is to find the lowest total, not the lowest line item.
Everything it costs to get goods distributed: freight charges, the cost of carrying inventory, warehousing, packaging, insurance, product that becomes obsolete in transit or storage, and pilferage.
Where property is lost or destroyed, where the assured is permanently deprived of it, or where it arrives so damaged that it is no longer the kind of thing insured. It takes two forms: an actual total loss, where the subject matter is gone or destroyed, and a constructive total loss, where saving or repairing it would cost more than the value it would then have, so the assured abandons it to the insurer and claims as for a total loss.
To establish where cargo, equipment, or a container has got to by following its movements from origin or from the last point it was recorded.
A request to a carrier to trace a shipment, either to speed it up or to establish that it was delivered.
A pair of parallel rails forming a runway for trains, and separately the act of following a shipment, piece of equipment, or container, loaded or empty, from origin to final delivery, keeping its status current at every stage. Modern systems using instrumented containers can pinpoint location continuously.
A carrier's system for recording the stages of a shipment's movement from origin to destination.
A four-or-more-wheeled vehicle built mainly to pull another vehicle such as a trailer or semitrailer, carrying no load itself beyond part of the weight of what it tows. Configurations vary: local delivery units typically run four to six wheels on a short chassis, while long-haul units are larger.
U.S. legislation covering a range of trade matters. It extended and broadened trade adjustment assistance for workers, firms, and farmers hurt by trade, authorized appropriations for the border agency for fiscal 2003 and 2004, and added provisions on counterterrorism and narcotics interdiction, including the examination of outbound mail without a warrant.
Why it matters. This is the act behind the advance manifest rules that gave us the 24-hour rule and ISF. Its filing deadlines govern how early your carrier needs cargo data.
U.S. legislation implementing the non-tariff barrier agreements reached in the Tokyo Round, including those requiring changes to existing law and concessions the 1974 act had not expressly authorized. It brought the round's codes on dumping, customs valuation, import licensing, standards, and procurement into domestic law.
Why it matters. This act is why U.S. customs valuation follows the international transaction value hierarchy. It also governs country-of-origin rules for federal procurement.
A U.S. agency, independent since 1981 after starting as a program within the development aid agency, that funds project planning abroad. It offers tied aid on lines comparable to Japan's, funding only projects that rank as priorities for the host country and that look likely to generate sales of American goods and services.
The difference between what a country exports and what it imports over a period, a surplus when exports exceed imports and a deficit when they do not.
Tariff and non-tariff obstacles to trade, usually grouped into eight categories: import policies such as tariffs, charges, quantitative limits, licensing, and customs obstacles; standards, testing, labeling, and certification; government procurement; export subsidies; weak intellectual property protection; barriers to services; barriers to investment; and everything else that spans more than one of these.
A mapping between tariff codes and the broader statistical classifications, such as the industrial classification and the UN trade classification. Statistical agencies, international bodies, and private organizations maintain these tables so that trade data and production data can be compared.
Credit granted to a customer for goods or services sold, whether that customer is a business, a government, a non-profit, or an individual. The term also covers credit one government extends to another for buying exports, and the purchase by a bank, at a discount, of a business's receivables or trade acceptances.
The amount by which a country's imports exceed its exports over a period.
A promotional gathering, often including product or service demonstrations, that brings buyers and sellers together in one place. The label spans fairs, missions, shows, catalog shows, matchmaker gatherings, inbound buyer delegations, and similar activities.
U.S. legislation authorizing participation in the Kennedy Round and giving the president general authority to negotiate reciprocal tariff cuts of up to half. It removed the peril point constraint that had bounded American negotiating positions in earlier rounds, assigning a different role to the tariff commission instead.
Why it matters. Section 232 of this act is the national security authority behind the steel and aluminium tariffs. It is still live law, not history.
An organized event where firms of several nationalities show their products or services to prospective buyers from set stands placed alongside other suppliers. Size is what separates a fair from a show: a fair draws more participants, or gathers several related industries together.
A catch-all for the arrangements that fund international trade: open account, collections, documentary credits, bank credit, and the specialized facilities built for exporters and importers.
A single U.S. government point of contact for information about federal programs available to help exporters.
A carrier's route between a given origin and a given destination.
Why it matters. Rates, transit times, and capacity are all managed lane by lane, so a carrier that is competitive on one pairing may be poor on another. Compare quotes per lane rather than per carrier.
The ordinary, unavoidable weight loss a shipment suffers that is treated as normal for a given trade, evaporation from ore cargoes being the classic case. It can also cover shortages from other causes accepted as inevitable. Such losses are effectively uninsurable, since underwriters set a deductible at or above the expected percentage to avoid paying for the inevitable.
A group taken abroad as a delegation to meet prospective customers. Unlike a fair or show there is no exhibition setting, only scheduled appointments with government or commercial buyers, or with people who can lead to them.
The name an organization trades under, or by which its business, goods, or services are known. Registration as a trademark is optional and often absent.
The steering body that has historically run the multilateral trade negotiation rounds under the postwar agreement and its successor organization.
A U.S. cabinet-level interagency committee created by the 1962 trade act and chaired by the trade representative to give broad direction on trade questions. Sitting on it are the heads of the commerce, state, treasury, agriculture, and labor departments. It was renewed by executive order at the close of the Carter administration.
A process created at the Uruguay Round mid-term ministerial in Montreal under which any member's trade policies come up for review by the governing council on a regular schedule, producing recommendations on how those policies might be improved.
A body set up in May 1990 to pull together the scattered federal approach to export promotion. Its members are the commerce department as chair, together with the state, treasury, agriculture, defense, energy, and transportation departments, plus the budget office, the trade representative, the economic advisers, the export credit bank, the overseas investment corporation, and the aid agencies.
Cycles of multilateral negotiation under the postwar trade agreement and its successor organization, each ending in simultaneous commitments among the participants to cut tariff and non-tariff barriers. Rounds were originally named after the place where talks began.
An organized event where firms display their products or services to prospective buyers from allocated stands set among other suppliers. Exhibitors are usually in the same industry but not necessarily from the same country, and a show is smaller than a fair.
A forum begun in 1994 by the U.S. customs authority for discussing major systems redesign work. Its membership runs past 150 and takes in trade associations, importers, brokers, carriers, sureties, and other segments of the trade community, organized into committees tasked with identifying legal and operational issues.
The amount by which a country's exports exceed its imports over a period.
The terms on which a sale is made, allocating between buyer and seller the price, the shipping, the insurance, and the customs duties. The phrase also refers to the published sets of definitions for those terms, of which the most widely used are Incoterms® 2020, issued by the International Chamber of Commerce, which superseded the now obsolete American foreign trade definitions.
Incoterms 2020 Guide →An escalating exchange in which one country raises tariffs on another's goods and that country retaliates by raising its own.
The intellectual property objectives pursued in the Uruguay Round and carried into the successor organization: substantive protection standards across patents, trademarks, copyrights, and the rest; enforcement that works both at the border and inside the country; and effective dispute settlement.
Why it matters. The border enforcement half is what lets customs seize counterfeit goods on its own initiative. If you own a mark, recording it with customs is what activates that.
The change in a currency's value measured as an index against a basket of other currencies, the composition and weighting of which reflect each partner's share of trade.
A word, name, symbol, or design that identifies the source of goods and distinguishes them from others, protected by registration and by use.
Why it matters. Recording your registered mark with customs is what lets the border agency seize counterfeits on its own initiative. Registration alone does not trigger enforcement at the port.
A U.S. government interactive tool producing tables and charts of annual and quarterly goods trade data from 2002 onward, selectable by individual country, trade or economic grouping, or region, and tabulated under the tariff, industry, or UN trade classification.
A firm that imports, exports, and trades between third countries in goods and services made or provided by others, absorbing many of the formalities that deter manufacturers from trading internationally themselves.
The total of people or vehicles, cars, ships, trains, trucks, moving into and out of a given area, a street, port, station, or terminal, over a set period.
An unpowered cargo vehicle carried on wheels at all four corners and built to be towed behind a powered vehicle such as a tractor.
A truck trailer or semitrailer carried on a rail flatcar, also known as piggyback. It suits routes where the rail leg costs less than driving it.
An operator running tramp vessels, that is ships trading wherever cargo offers rather than on a fixed schedule.
A ship working to no fixed schedule between ports, calling wherever cargo can be found.
The smallest unit of business activity, a single business event, and in trade the exchange between a buyer and a seller for a product or service.
A company's vulnerability to currency losses on deals already agreed but not yet settled.
Why it matters. Exposure begins at order confirmation, not at payment, so a quote held open for weeks is already a currency position. Hedge from the date you commit to the price.
The price actually paid or payable for goods, and the primary basis on which customs determines the value of imports. Valuation matters both for trade statistics and for calculating duty wherever the rate is expressed as a percentage of value.
Why it matters. Transaction value is the first method in a hierarchy, and you move down it only when the sale fails the conditions, such as a related-party price that is not arm’s length. Statutory additions such as assists, qualifying royalties and licence fees, and qualifying resale proceeds are dutiable even when they never appear on the invoice, which is where most large exposures come from.
The movement of modern or scientific production and distribution methods between enterprises, institutions, or countries, whether by foreign investment, licensing of patent rights in trade, technical assistance, or training.
Setting prices for goods and services moving internally, between the units, subsidiaries, divisions, or affiliates that make up one organization. A manufacturer might charge its own overseas subsidiary less than it charges an independent distributor, and the practice also covers adjusting those internal prices deliberately for tax or duty purposes.
Why it matters. Customs wants the related-party price high enough to be arm's length; tax authorities often want it low. A transfer price defensible to one is not automatically defensible to the other, so document both.
A credit under which the named beneficiary may instruct its bank to pass the credit, whole or in part, to another beneficiary. This is possible only where the issuing bank has expressly marked the credit transferable. It lets an intermediary give its own suppliers the security of a credit.
Why it matters. Transfer is what lets a trader pay a supplier without disclosing the end buyer or tying up its own credit line. The alternative, a back-to-back credit, puts the risk on the intermediary's bank instead.
A bank sending money to be paid to someone in another town or country. A mail transfer sends the payment instruction by post, a wire transfer by wire or telegraph, and a cable transfer to a place outside the country by cable. Each carries a fee.
A journey from one place to another, the act of making such a passage by sea, a facility through which people or cargo move, and in customs the procedure under which goods cross a territory without entering its commerce.
The paper document travelling with goods under an EU transit procedure. Although the computerized system advises the destination office electronically, the law still requires the paper in case the shipment is diverted or something happens on the way, and so that it can be produced at each transit office and at destination. Its copies A and B stand in for copies 4 and 5 of the Single Administrative Document.
A U.S. procedure letting air cargo imports move from the gateway city on to the city where they will actually clear, so duty collection and processing happen at destination. It speeds shipments up, eases congestion at the gateway, and cuts costs for importers, the border agency, and the airlines.
Cargo that arrives at a point and leaves from it again, usually meaning air freight that stays aboard the same flight. Whether inbound transit cargo clears customs at the stopping point varies.
An entry port on the coast of one country, set up as a storage and distribution point for a neighbor that lacks adequate ports or sea access. Goods moving to and from that neighbor escape the host country's duties, import controls, and most entry and exit formalities. It is narrower in scope than a free trade zone.
Moving a shipment from one mode of transport to another, as when cargo passes from train to ocean vessel. The word also covers shifting cargo between domestic and international containers.
Why it matters. Transloading roughly three 40ft ocean containers into two 53ft domestic trailers is a standard way to cut inland cost per unit, weight permitting. It adds a handling step, so the packaging has to survive a second move.
A covering list setting out the particulars of a shipment, recording which documents are being sent, and instructing what is to be done with them, along with any special directions.
How far the laws, regulations, agreements, and practices bearing on international trade are open, plainly stated, capable of measurement, and open to verification. Several of the Tokyo Round codes of conduct were aimed at making non-tariff barriers more transparent.
A non-governmental organization working against corruption in international business and government. Its case rests on several grounds: that corruption distorts development and worsens human rights abuses, that it undermines democracies and particularly the gains of developing and transition countries, and that it erodes ethical standards in business.
Any document evidencing that goods were accepted, received, and shipped: bills of lading, ocean bills, air waybills, rail waybills, dock receipts, and the like.
A rail terminal, freight station, container yard, multipurpose cargo terminal, or similar shipping and receiving point, often serving as the transfer point between two or more modes such as road and rail.
The U.S. entry type used when goods arrive in the country but are destined elsewhere, allowing them to move in bond across U.S. territory. Cargo arriving in Seattle from Japan and bound for Canada would move on one.
Why it matters. A T&E keeps goods out of U.S. commerce entirely, so no duty is owed, but the bond stays open until export is proven. Track the closing paperwork or the surety pursues you.
Sending freight to an intermediate point and onward from there, typically changing carrier or mode along the way, and sometimes being consolidated or split there. In trade policy the word also describes routing goods through a third country to disguise their true origin.
Why it matters. The policy sense is the dangerous one: routing through a third country to dodge duty is fraud, and the importer of record carries the liability. Know where your goods were actually made, not merely where they last shipped from.
Notices published by the U.S. state department to warn travelling citizens of conditions abroad that could affect them: physical danger, the risk of arrest or detention, serious health hazards, and other circumstances with grave consequences.
Another name for a trade mission, a delegation taken abroad to meet prospective customers by appointment.
For statistical purposes, someone staying under a year in a country where they are not resident. Military and government personnel posted abroad and their dependents are excluded however long they stay, being counted as remaining in their home economy, as are business owners and employees temporarily working abroad.
A credit a bank issues to a customer setting out on a long trip. The customer pays for it, it runs for a stated period in the amount bought, and the bank names the correspondent banks and overseas branches of its own that will honor drafts drawn against it.
The 1965 treaty merging the executive bodies of the three European Communities into a single Commission and Council.
The 1957 treaty establishing a single European market with free movement of goods, people, services, and capital. Its Article 30 banned not only quantitative limits on imports but every measure having equivalent effect.
A container able to hold three different temperature zones in separate compartments at the same time.
Trade among three countries arranged so that each ends up with a favorable balance.
The landed price below which an import prompts the customs authority of the importing country to apply a tariff or a quota.
A class of container vessel built by Daewoo for Maersk, the largest ever by cargo volume and among the longest in service at four hundred meters. The name comes from three design aims: economy of scale, energy efficiency, and environmental improvement, and the ships were expected to be the most efficient per TEU afloat.
Agricultural goods that matter to exporters in the tropical belts of Africa, Latin America, and East Asia: coffee, grown above all in Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam; cocoa, chiefly from Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia; tea, with India and Sri Lanka among the largest producers; and bananas and similar staples of the tropics.
A non-negotiable bill used for domestic road shipments, issued in short or long form and showing no freight rates or charges. Anyone may sign to acknowledge receipt of the goods unless the bill is endorsed for signature service, in which case only the party the shipper names may sign for delivery.
Road carriage of air freight between airports and points that lie outside the terminal area covered by ordinary pickup and delivery.
A trucking company that moves a full trailer or more at a time for a single shipper, running direct to the delivery point rather than through a terminal. An LTL carrier by contrast puts several shippers' freight on one truck and usually takes the whole load to a terminal before splitting it for delivery.
Why it matters. TL beats LTL on cost once you fill roughly half a trailer, and it avoids the handling that causes most LTL damage. Compare the two whenever a shipment passes about twelve pallets.
A Japanese bank that both lends and manages money on clients' behalf.
A client's declaration to a bank that goods the bank has released remain the bank's property and are held only in trust. The bank hands over the merchandise while keeping title; the buyer, who takes it to manufacture or resell, must keep those goods, or the proceeds of selling them, separate from its other assets and available to the bank.
Why it matters. A trust receipt lets you take delivery and sell before paying the bank, which is what makes import financing work. Commingling the proceeds with your operating account is a breach, not an accounting detail.
An agreement under which a builder delivers a facility complete and ready to operate. A contractor might undertake to construct a fully equipped, working factory on this basis, its responsibility ending when it hands the finished installation to the client.
An exchange rate regime that shields a country from what capital movements would otherwise do to its balance of payments, while holding the rate steady for current account business. Capital transactions are routed through a financial market and current ones through an official market, though variations exist.
A condition a seller places on a buyer: to get the product it wants, the buyer must also take a second product it may have no use for. Some countries prohibit certain such arrangements outright.
55 terms in this group.
The U.S. agency charged with shielding the public from unreasonable risk of serious injury or death arising from the thousands of consumer products under its jurisdiction.
Why it matters. CPSC is a partner government agency at the border, so its requirements can hold an entry regardless of your customs filing. Children's products need testing and a certificate before the goods ship, not after.
A U.S. commerce department agency helping American firms compete abroad through a network of trade specialists across dozens of domestic cities and countries. Its offices supply market information, agent and distributor location services, trade leads, and counselling on opportunities, barriers, and prospects overseas.
Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits: the international rules banks apply to letters of credit.
Abbreviation for upper deck, used in stowage notations to indicate where cargo is carried.
Abbreviation for unit load device, the containers and pallets used to load cargo aboard an aircraft.
Working up an affiliate's ownership chain from the foreign parent, the first person not itself more than half owned by anyone else. Only that one party counts; other affiliated persons in the chain do not. Where the foreign parent has no majority owner above it, parent and ultimate owner are the same, and unlike a foreign parent an ultimate owner can be domestic.
Why it matters. Sanctions screening turns on beneficial ownership, not the name on the invoice, and majority ownership by a designated party taints the entity even if it is not itself listed. Ask who owns your counterparty.
The genuine party in interest, the one that receives goods for their intended end use.
Why it matters. Export rules hold you responsible for knowing this party, not merely the freight forwarder or intermediate consignee named on the paperwork. A vague or evasive answer about end use is itself a red flag.
The final business or trading day of a month.
A crude oil tanker between 300,000 and 550,000 deadweight tons, the largest vessels afloat, used on long hauls from the Gulf to Europe, the Americas, and the Far East around the Cape. They need purpose-built terminals to load and discharge.
An act done without the authority to do it. Where a contract requires both parties to approve an assignment and one assigns without the other's consent, that assignment is ultra vires.
A rate structure setting minimums artificially high in order to shelter less competitive carriers and modes.
United Nations rules for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport. The scheme provides standards, directories, and guidance for moving structured data and documents between computer systems, with international trade in goods and services chiefly in view.
United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations. This five-character system identifies more than forty thousand trade and transport points worldwide, among them seaports, airports, rail, bus, and truck terminals, and other collection and delivery points. The first two characters are the ISO country code and the remaining three identify the place.
Goods so prone to damage or spoilage that an open cargo policy will not cover them except on special terms.
A bill of lading bearing notations that record a defect in the goods or their packaging.
Why it matters. A bank will refuse an unclean bill under a documentary credit, so a clausing at loading can stop payment entirely. Fix the packing before the mate's receipt is signed, not after.
A documentary credit under which the advising bank takes on no obligation of its own to pay, accept, or negotiate.
Unfair or oppressive to the point of injustice. Terms that favor one party so heavily that the bargain is unjust are unconscionable, particularly where the disadvantaged party contracted under duress or without any real chance to negotiate.
An insurance company that issues policies, or the individual within one who assesses a proposed risk and sets the premium and exclusions accordingly. The word comes from seventeenth-century London, where proposed maritime ventures were posted at Lloyd's coffeehouse and those willing to take a share of the risk signed their names beneath.
An independent non-profit organization founded in the United States in 1894 that tests and certifies products for safety. It has written more than a thousand safety standards, is a leading name in American product safety, and has become one of the most widely recognized conformity assessment bodies internationally, with billions of its marks applied to products each year.
Government support to firms out of the ordinary, export subsidies among them, or anti-competitive conduct on the part of the firms themselves, whether dumping, boycotts, or discriminatory shipping arrangements, that hands the beneficiaries an advantage in international trade. In U.S. law the term also covers any foreign government act, policy, or practice that violates or denies benefits under a trade agreement.
An independent non-profit standards body, since renamed GS1, that develops and distributes integrated business standards. It administers the Universal Product Code and, with its European counterpart, publishes open worldwide standards covering how businesses identify products and exchange supply chain data, along with training and publications.
A body of model statutes adopted to bring some consistency to commercial law across U.S. states. Its articles reach bills of lading, negotiable instruments, sales, transfers of stock, trust receipts, and warehouse receipts.
Why it matters. The UCC governs domestic U.S. sales; the Vienna convention governs cross-border ones between signatory countries unless the contract excludes it. Know which one your contract actually falls under.
The internationally accepted codification of banking practice on documentary credits, drawn up by a working group of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris and revised periodically. The version in force is ICC Publication 600, effective from 1 July 2007.
Why it matters. A credit is subject to these rules only if it says so, and the rules decide what counts as a discrepancy. Read the article behind any refusal before you accept it.
Everything it costs to produce one unit of a product or service, or the cost of a production run divided by the number of units it yielded.
Cartons, packages, sacks, drums, or other cargo strapped or banded together, often on a pallet, so they travel, stack, and store as a single piece.
A container or pallet used to load and carry cargo, particularly in an aircraft hold. Devices come in various shapes and sizes to suit particular aircraft types.
Why it matters. ULD shapes are contoured to the fuselage, so a shipment built to a rectangular footprint may not fit the device it is assigned. Ask which type your freight will be built on before deciding carton dimensions.
Dimensions Calculator →A multilateral treaty setting out a commercial code that governs buyers' and sellers' rights and obligations in cross-border sales contracts, designed to encourage trade through a unified legal framework. It was concluded in Vienna in 1980, which is why it is also called the Vienna Sales Convention.
Why it matters. It applies automatically between parties in signatory countries unless the contract opts out in writing. Many drafters exclude it out of habit, which can be a mistake, since its rules on conformity and remedies are often more balanced than one side's domestic law.
A U.S. business subject to foreign direct investment, meaning one foreign person holds or controls, directly or indirectly, at least a tenth of the voting securities, or an equivalent interest where the business is unincorporated. It is called a U.S. affiliate because it sits in the United States, though foreign owned.
The codification by subject of the general, permanent law of the United States, divided into fifty titles and published by the law revision counsel of the House of Representatives. A new edition appears every six years, with annual cumulative supplements in between.
The former name of the agency now known as U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The executive department advising the president on agricultural policy. It works to sustain farm income, runs nutrition programs, develops export markets for American farm products, and inspects and grades food for safe consumption.
Why it matters. USDA holds import authority over plants, animals, and many food products, and its permits and treatments have to be arranged before arrival. Wood packaging and agricultural residue are common causes of holds.
The executive department promoting American economic growth, international trade, and technological advancement. It runs programs to improve competitiveness and support business, works against unfair foreign trade competition, publishes social and economic statistics and analysis, and supports scientific and engineering work.
The civilian executive department that provides the armed forces required to deter war and safeguard national security, comprising the departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy.
The executive department created in 1977 to bring the major federal energy functions together. Its main missions are energy programs, weapons work and waste clean-up, and science and technology.
The federal department created by homeland security legislation in 2002 to protect the United States. It coordinates the organizations that secure infrastructure and points of entry, interdict illegal drugs, and prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
The executive department advancing the welfare of wage earners, improving working conditions, and expanding employment opportunity. It tracks employment, price, and other economic measures nationally through bodies including the labor statistics bureau and the employment and training administration.
The executive department conducting foreign relations and negotiating treaties and agreements with other countries, coordinating its work with the overseas activities of other federal agencies. Its bureaus include consular affairs, economic and business affairs, intelligence and research, and international organization affairs.
The executive department responsible for most federally owned public land and natural resources, and the principal conservation agency. Its territorial and international affairs office covers the territories and freely associated states, and handles the department's dealings abroad.
The executive department with four core functions: shaping economic, financial, tax, and fiscal policy; acting as the government's financial agent; enforcing the law; and producing coins and currency. Its international affairs unit handles monetary affairs, trade and investment policy, debt strategy, and participation in the international financial institutions.
The executive department established by legislation in 1966 to develop national transportation policy. Its constituent bodies include the aviation, highway, railroad, and transit administrations, the maritime administration, and the highway traffic safety administration.
An obsolete set of trade terms, still occasionally specified in domestic U.S. contracts. The international standard is Incoterms® 2020.
Why it matters. The old FOB variants meant something different from the Incoterms rule of the same name, so a contract citing them can leave cost and risk allocated in a way neither side expects. Name the Incoterms edition explicitly.
Incoterms 2020 Guide →An independent fact-finding agency, formerly the Tariff Commission created in 1916 and renamed with a wider mandate by the 1974 trade act. It studies the effect of tariffs and other trade restraints on the economy and holds public hearings to help determine whether particular industries are injured or threatened by dumping, subsidized exports, or import surges.
Why it matters. The commission decides injury while the commerce department decides dumping margins, and both must be affirmative for duties to attach. It also publishes the tariff schedule itself.
The schedule identifying which items and categories count as defense articles and services, and are therefore controlled for export. It resembles the international munitions list in coverage but is stricter, and reform efforts have aimed at merging it with the dual-use commerce control list.
Why it matters. A USML item needs State Department authorization, and there is no de minimis relief for the American content inside a foreign-made product. Classify against this list before assuming commerce jurisdiction.
In dumping investigations, the price at which goods sell in the United States, set against their foreign market value to establish whether the merchandise is being sold below fair value.
An independent executive branch agency whose mandate is to promote economic development in developing and middle-income countries while generating exports of American goods and services. It funds feasibility work and orientation visits, and runs trade-related training, to help firms take part in overseas projects with real export potential.
A cabinet-level official holding ambassadorial rank who is the president's principal adviser on international trade policy and is responsible for setting and administering it. The role covers export expansion, participation in the World Trade Organization, commodity questions, and trade-related direct investment.
A bilateral arrangement on semiconductor trade between the United States and Japan, addressing market access and pricing.
The North American trade agreement that replaced NAFTA in 2020, covering the three countries with provisions aimed at supporting economic growth, encouraging fair competition, and fostering innovation. Its rules of origin are tighter than its predecessor's, particularly for automotive goods, and it adds labor value content requirements.
Why it matters. USMCA claims are made by the importer on the strength of a certification of origin, which any of the three parties may complete, and you must hold it at the time of claim. Keep the supporting bill of materials, since verification looks past the certificate.
Tariff Refund Calculator →A credit the beneficiary may negotiate through whichever bank it chooses.
A U.S. list naming people and entities the export control bureau has been unable to establish the bona fides of. Parties on it cannot receive controlled items under a license exception, and exporters must file an export system record for every shipment to them and obtain a statement from the party before shipping.
Why it matters. The UVL is not a denial list, but dealing with a listed party is a red flag you must resolve rather than ignore. Screen against it alongside the denied and entity lists.
A higher, or the highest, deck aboard a ship or aircraft.
The eighth round of multilateral trade negotiations, named for Punta del Este where talks opened in 1987 and concluded in December 1993 after seven years among 117 participating nations. Its aims were to cut barriers to trade in goods, strengthen the multilateral system, and extend the rules to services and intellectual property. It produced the World Trade Organization.
The time an international obligation may run before payment falls due. A usance credit is one available against time drafts rather than at sight.
Charges the U.S. border agency collects when goods are entered, to help cover what processing imports costs it.
Why it matters. Merchandise processing and harbor maintenance fees are separate from duty and are not eliminated by a free trade agreement, though some agreements do exempt the merchandise processing fee. Include them in landed cost.
The duty on anyone seeking insurance to disclose every material fact about the risk that they know or ought to know.
Why it matters. This standard is stricter than ordinary contract law: an innocent failure to mention a material fact can still void the policy. Disclose unusual routings, storage, or prior losses at placement.
35 terms in this group.
A specific government authorization to export items controlled under the export administration regulations or the arms traffic regulations, required for products, technology, or software judged sensitive on grounds of national security, foreign policy, counterterrorism, or non-proliferation.
The period during which a letter of credit remains open. Once notified that a credit has been opened in its favor, the seller must satisfy every requirement within that window.
Why it matters. Two clocks run at once: the expiry date and the presentation period after shipment, usually 21 days. Missing either is a discrepancy even where the goods shipped on time.
Extra transport charges applied where a shipper declares a value above the carrier's liability limit.
Why it matters. Declaring value raises the carrier's cap but is priced as insurance without being insurance, and it recovers nothing where the carrier is not liable. Cargo insurance is usually the better buy.
A clause in an ocean marine policy fixing, by agreement between the assured and the underwriter, the basis on which a shipment is valued, thereby setting the insured value. It determines what is payable on a recoverable loss or a general average contribution, and commonly values the goods at the invoice amount including all invoice charges and prepaid freight.
The amount by which a product's value rises at each stage of production, once the cost of the inputs bought in at that stage is subtracted.
A way of describing the supply chain that emphasizes what each participant contributes to the worth of the finished product or service.
The date assigned to a banking transaction for accounting purposes, marking when interest on the entry starts or stops running.
The Canadian dollar figure duty is calculated on. The customs act makes transaction value the primary basis, with five subsidiary methods set out in sequence; the first method that fits the circumstances of the transaction must be the one used.
The Canadian dollar figure certain domestic taxes are calculated on: the value for duty plus any applicable duties, trade remedy assessments, and excise taxes. Sales taxes are charged on this amount.
A statement of the distinctive value an organization offers customers that sets it apart from competitors, usually resting on operational excellence, product leadership, closeness to the customer, or price. The term also describes the value an organization expects to gain from a course of action it commits to.
A policy where assured and underwriter agree the insured value of the property at the time of writing, instead of working it out once a loss has happened, unlike an actual cash value policy.
Abbreviation for value-added reseller, a firm that buys a product, adds features or services to it, and resells the combination.
A pricing model under which the client pays a set unit price for a defined standard product or service and additional fees as quantity or quality rises. In outsourced telemarketing, for instance, a modest fee per outbound call is topped up by charges for each contact reached and each appointment set.
A tariff that moves with world market prices, adjusted so that the import price after duty comes out at a predetermined gate price.
The change in the price of a currency option for each one percent change in implied volatility.
A weatherproof container with small protected openings in the top or sides that let air circulate freely.
Why it matters. Ventilated boxes are the standard answer for coffee, cocoa, and other cargo that respires, because sealed dry containers trap the moisture that causes sweat damage. They are not refrigerated, so they control humidity, not temperature.
Money invested in early-stage, high-potential, high-risk companies in return for equity, usually accompanied by management help and industry connections.
The place where something occurs, particularly an organized event, and in litigation the court location where a case is heard.
A contract clause naming the legal system the parties have chosen to govern their rights, often the law of whichever party drafted the agreement. Without one, the governing law is likely to be that of whichever jurisdiction the contract is most closely connected with in the circumstances. It is also called a proper law clause.
Why it matters. Choice of law and choice of forum are separate clauses, and having one without the other creates expensive uncertainty. Name both, and check the chosen forum will actually enforce a judgment where your counterparty holds assets.
An export trading company that brings together the whole range of functions needed to move products from suppliers through to consumers.
Expanding, acquiring, or merging into different points along the same production or distribution path, generally in order to control the whole chain. A leather shoe maker buying a tannery is the classic case: it can cut cost and improve efficiency by owning the process end to end.
A crude oil tanker between 200,000 and just under 300,000 deadweight tons. Being smaller than an ultra large carrier they are more flexible and work heavily on Mediterranean, West African, and North Sea routes, and can sometimes pass through the Suez Canal in ballast.
One loading or discharge of an ocean container at a port or terminal, counted as a statistical unit to express container volumes by hour, week, month, or year.
Advance planning of how containers and other cargo will be placed aboard a vessel. It serves several ends at once: easing loading and discharge, keeping the ship balanced, honoring below- and above-deck requirements, sequencing cargo for successive ports, meeting the special needs of hazardous goods, and satisfying security filing rules.
Why it matters. The stow plan is one of the carrier's two security filings under the 10+2 rules, alongside container status messages. Your ISF is the importer half of the same regime.
A shipping measure treating 100 cubic feet of cargo as one ton.
The name commonly given to the 1980 Vienna treaty governing the rights and duties of buyers and sellers in cross-border sales contracts.
An overwhelming force or disturbance, usually natural, that no amount of due care can prevent. Floods and strikes are examples.
A certificate or stamp an embassy or consulate places in a passport permitting the holder to visit, do business, work, or settle in the issuing country for a stated period. In customs the same word means a licence an exporting government issues authorizing export of a set quantity of goods to a particular importing country.
Why it matters. The customs sense matters for textiles and apparel under quota regimes: without a valid visa the entry cannot be released, regardless of the commercial paperwork.
An agreement with no legal effect that cannot be ratified or otherwise brought to life. One requiring an illegal act is void from the start.
A valid agreement that one of the parties may treat as invalid on account of a defect or illegality in how it was made. A contract induced by fraudulent misrepresentation binds the party who committed the fraud, while the party deceived may choose to void it.
A rate that applies once a specified quantity of freight is tendered.
An arrangement between trading partners under which the exporting country agrees to cap its exports of a particular good in order to reduce friction. Also called a voluntary restraint agreement.
Informal bilateral or multilateral arrangements under which exporters hold back particular exports, generally by means of export quotas, so as to prevent economic dislocation in the importing country and head off mandatory restrictions. Unlike unilaterally imposed limits, they carry no obligation for the importing country to compensate the exporting one.
The whole journey a vessel makes from her home port, through every port of call, and back again.
A marine cargo policy covering one shipment only, suited to shippers who move a handful of consignments a year or are new to importing and exporting. Each further shipment needs a fresh policy, and firms also use voyage policies for one-off or unusual cargo.
Why it matters. Once you ship regularly, an open cover costs less per shipment and removes the risk of forgetting to place cover at all. Voyage policies are for the exceptions.
41 terms in this group.
A policy clause providing cover against loss caused by war.
The exposure of a vessel, its cargo, and those aboard to hostile action by an enemy state or group.
Cover against war perils, set out across a dozen or so tightly drawn paragraphs that need reading in full to be understood. Broadly it answers for capture and seizure, for destruction or damage caused by warlike operations in the course of hostilities, civil war, or insurrection, and for loss arising from sanctions applied under international agreement. Delay and loss of market are excluded.
Why it matters. War risk is bought separately from ordinary cargo cover and can be cancelled at short notice as a region deteriorates. Check that it is in force for the actual routing, not merely for the policy year.
A document listing goods deposited in a warehouse, serving as the depositor's receipt and evidencing that the warehouse holds them as bailee. It may be negotiable or not.
Why it matters. A negotiable warehouse receipt is a document of title, so goods can be financed or sold while sitting in store. A non-negotiable one is only a receipt and gives a lender nothing to hold.
Cover that attaches when goods leave the origin warehouse for transit and continues in the ordinary course of transit until they reach the final warehouse at destination, subject to a cut-off of fifteen days after discharge, or thirty where the destination lies beyond the port limits, whichever comes first. Where delay beyond that period arises from circumstances outside the assured's control, cover may be held covered on notice.
Why it matters. The clock starts at discharge, not at delivery, so cargo waiting on customs clearance or a delayed collection can fall out of cover before it ever reaches you. Tell the underwriter as soon as a delay looks likely.
Storing, securing, and managing raw materials, components, or finished goods in a controlled location.
A contracting party's promise that the other may rely on stated facts or representations as true. A seller might warrant that goods will meet a specification the buyer supplied.
The 1929 treaty on international carriage by air, which governs the conditions of air transport in a uniform way across signatory states. Among other things it fixes air carriers' liability and the monetary limits on loss, damage, and delay.
Why it matters. The liability cap is per kilogram of the goods affected, which for anything valuable is far below its worth. Cargo insurance, not the air waybill, is what actually covers you.
An understanding among some thirty-three countries promoting voluntary export control guidelines, along with transparency and greater responsibility in how conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technology are transferred.
A spell of duty worked by part of a ship's crew. The day divides into five four-hour watches plus two two-hour dog watches, the shorter pair existing so that the same people do not stand the same hours every day. Crews typically work four hours on and four or eight off, in rotating groups.
The tier of countries identified under the U.S. annual intellectual property review as having protection or enforcement shortcomings that warrant monitoring, one step below the priority watch list.
A usage charge on vessels working inland waterways, normally levied as a tax on the fuel they burn there.
A document a carrier makes out where a shipment starts, recording origin, destination, route, consignor, consignee, a description of the goods, and the charge for carriage. It travels with the shipment, or goes by post ahead of it, to whoever handles the goods at the transfer point or at destination.
Why it matters. A waybill is a contract of carriage and a receipt but not a document of title, so it cannot be endorsed over to control delivery. Use a bill of lading where payment depends on holding the paperwork.
U.S. federal legislation exempting associations of exporters from the antitrust rules.
An exporting association that pools the output of similar producers for sale abroad. Such bodies enjoy a partial exemption from antitrust law but may not take part in import, domestic, or third-country trade, nor combine to export services.
Two European directives on electrical and electronic equipment: one on waste equipment, setting collection and recycling obligations, and one restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in such equipment.
Why it matters. Both put obligations on whoever places the goods on the EU market, which for an importer means you. Compliance has to be documented at the supplier, since testing after arrival is far more expensive.
A threshold at which the rate per hundred pounds drops because the shipment has got substantially heavier. Typical thresholds sit at one hundred, five hundred, one thousand, three thousand, five thousand, and ten thousand pounds.
Why it matters. Shipping just under a break costs more than shipping just over it, so adding weight can lower the total bill. Ask your carrier where the breaks sit before finalizing a consignment.
The basis on which ocean and air freight charges are worked out. Carriers price according to what the service costs them and to whichever method yields more revenue, so heavy cargo is generally rated on weight and light cargo on volume.
Why it matters. This is why a light, bulky shipment can cost as much as a dense one twice its weight. Reducing carton dimensions often saves more than reducing weight.
Dimensions Calculator →A ton expressed by weight rather than volume: 2,000 pounds short, 2,240 pounds long, or 2,204.68 pounds metric.
The unit of weight a contract specifies, or the symbol or code standing for it.
The systems of units used in trade to express quantity, weight, volume, and dimension, together with the conversions between them.
A union of French-speaking West African states, among them Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, established by treaty in 1962. Members share a currency, the CFA franc, freely convertible into the euro at a fixed parity under arrangement with France, and a common central bank.
A standard aircraft leasing contract in which the lessor, an operator holding an air operating certificate, supplies aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance to the lessee for an hourly fee against a minimum number of hours in a set period. The lessee, itself an air carrier, takes on the schedule, the airport fees, cargo and ramp handling, crew support, flight operations, servicing, and fuel.
A structure built out from the shore on piles into a river, bay, lake, or ocean, giving access to vessels for loading and discharging cargo and passengers.
A charge the owner of a pier or dock levies for moving cargo in or out, or for berthing a vessel alongside.
A marking indicating that a statement, report, or opinion is given without conceding any rights and cannot be used against the party making it.
Wording indicating that a shipper's agent abroad may make binding decisions and adjustments without going back to the party represented for approval.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, an intergovernmental financial institution based in Washington that lends for development.
The intergovernmental body devoted solely to customs matters. With members worldwide it is the recognized voice of the customs community, best known for developing global standards, simplifying and harmonizing customs procedures, working on supply chain security and trade facilitation, and strengthening enforcement and compliance.
Why it matters. The WCO owns the Harmonized System, so its explanatory notes are the reference point when a classification is argued. Its SAFE framework is the model behind national trusted trader programs.
A Geneva-based non-profit founded in 1971, best known for its annual January gathering of business and political leaders, academics, journalists, and selected non-governmental organizations at Davos.
A United Nations specialized agency promoting international cooperation on intellectual property protection among member states. It administers a set of unions, each resting on a multilateral treaty and handling the legal and administrative side of a field of intellectual property, among them the industrial property union founded in 1883.
The worldwide body coordinating networks for meteorological, hydrological, and geophysical observation, the exchange of weather and related data, and the standardization of meteorological measurement.
An intergovernmental technical body covering all aspects of tourism, promoting and developing it as a contributor to economic growth, mutual understanding between nations, peace, and prosperity.
An organization creating trade and investment openings for property developers in the commercial sector, for economic development bodies, and for businesses seeking international connections and local growth.
Local and regional bodies of importers, exporters, customs brokers, freight forwarders, lawyers, bankers, manufacturers, and shippers formed to promote and profit from growth in international trade. Services vary but most offer information resources and databases, seminars and scheduled classes, and meeting and club facilities.
The principal international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations. It was created by the Uruguay Round negotiations of 1986 to 1994 and came into being on 1 January 1995, with a membership above 150 countries and others seeking to join.
The international network of electronic links connecting personal computers with servers.
A published schedule of nominal freight rates for carrying oil in bulk, used as a common reference against which rates for any voyage or market level can be compared. The tanker market quotes itself as a percentage of that nominal rate, so Worldscale 100, or flat, is the published figure itself.
A judicial order directing a person, often a sheriff, judge, or other officer, to carry out a specified act or have it carried out. Writs of attachment, execution, and replevin are the familiar examples courts use to enforce judgments.
The party that writes an option, also called the seller, taking on the obligation to perform the contract if the buyer chooses to exercise it.
The organization states its aim as keeping trade moving smoothly, freely, fairly, and on predictable terms. It pursues that by administering the trade agreements, hosting negotiations, settling disputes, monitoring national trade policies, helping developing countries with technical assistance and training, and working with other international bodies.
1 term in this group.
The currency of Japan, divided into 100 sen, a subunit no longer in use.
6 terms in this group.
A body that examines controls adopted under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and refines the list of items requiring nuclear safeguards. Its membership of nuclear supplier states runs to nearly forty and includes all the nuclear weapons states bar France and China.
The idea that whatever one side gains in a deal or negotiation the other side loses, so that all gains and losses added together come to nothing.
A numerical code created by the U.S. Postal Service for routing mail and identifying delivery zones. Some carriers use it for freight the same way.
The rate for carrying mail, cargo, or freight to any point within a defined zone.
The status of goods moved into a zone from customs territory for storage, or to satisfy a legal requirement that they be exported or destroyed. Such goods count as exported and cannot come back into customs territory for consumption unless the zones board finds that returning them serves the public interest.
The legal standing of merchandise once it has been admitted to a foreign trade zone in the United States, which brings it under the zone legislation. Entry, classification, and appraisement of goods transferred out of a zone all turn on which of four statuses the merchandise holds.
Why it matters. The election matters: non-privileged foreign status is what lets the finished article be classified as it leaves the zone, which is where inverted tariff relief comes from. Privileged foreign status does the opposite, freezing classification and rate at admission to protect against an increase. Privileged status cannot be undone, so choose deliberately.
FTZ Cash Flow Calculator →Use the glossary as a starting point, then talk to Cubeship about designing the freight, customs, FTZ, warehousing, and cross-border workflows behind it.