International Trade Terms An intemational trade deal can involve up to four contracts and the impor

An intemational trade deal can involve up to four contracts and the importer must have a broad understanding of each of them. The four contracts are the contract of carriage , the export sales contract , the insurance contract and the contract of finance. There are three main areas of uncertainty as to which country's law will be applicable to their contracts; the difficulty emerging from inadequate and unreliable information; and the serious problem of the diversity of interpretation of th e various trade terms. The latter point can involve costly litigation and loss of much goodwill when a dispute over the interpretation of such terms arises.

The role of Incoterms 1990 is to give the business person a set of international rules for the interpretation of the more commonly used terms such as FOB, CIF and EXW in foreign trade contracts. Such a range of terms enables the businessperson to decide which is the most suitable for their needs , knowing that the interpretation of terms will not vary by individual country.

It must be recognized, however, that it is not always possible to give a precise interpretation. In such situations one musL rely on the custom of the trade or port. Businesspersons are advised to use terms that are subject to varying interpretations as little as possible and to rely on the well-established and intemationally accepted terms. To avoid any-misunderstandings or disputes, the parties to the contract are well advised to keep trading customs of individual countries in mind when negotiating their export sales contract. However,parties to the contract may use Incoterms as the general basis of their contract , but may specify variations of them or additions to them relevant to the particular trade or circumstances. An example is the CIF plus war risk insurance. The seller would base his quotation accordingly. Special provisions in the individual contract between the parties willoverride[1] anything in the Incoterm provisions.

A point to bear especially in mind is the need for caution in the variation, for example, of CFR,CIF or DDP. The addition of a word or letter could change the contract and its interpretation. It is essential that any such variation be explicitly stated in the contract to ensure each party to the contract to be aware of its obligations and act accordingly.

The buyer and seller parties Lo the contract must especially bear in mind that Incoterms only defines their relationship in contract terms, andhas no bearin directly or indirectly on[2] the carriers' obligations to them as found in the contract of carriage. However,the law of carriage will determine how the seller should fulfil his obligation to deliver the goods to the carrier on board the vessel as found in FOB, CFR and CIF. A further point to bear in mind by the seller and buyer is that there is no obligation for the seller to procure an msurance policy for the buyer's benefit. However, in practice, many contracts request the buyer or seller to arrange insurance from the point of departure in the country of dispatch to the point of final destination chosen by the buyer.

Incoterms 1990 can be divided into recommended usage by modes of transport as under all modes (i. e. combined transport) , EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAF, DDP, DDU; conventional port/sea transport only FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, DES, DEQ. Incoterms 1990 reflects the changes and development of international distribution during the past decade, especially the development of combined transportation and associated documentation together with electronic data interchange.

[1]比……重要

[2]与……没有直接或间接关系

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