General

Delivery of international trade goods

1、 Delivery time

The three commonly used trade terms FOB, CIF, and CFR in international trade all belong to the port of shipment for delivery, so it is customary to equate "delivery" with "shipment". But be aware of any exceptions that may occur.

1. Method of determining delivery time

(1) Stipulate shipment within a certain month

(2) Stipulate shipment before the end of a certain month

(3) Stipulate shipment before a certain day of a certain month

(4) It is stipulated to ship within a certain number of consecutive months

(5) Stipulate a certain period of time for shipment after receiving the letter of credit or payment

(6) Provide for immediate shipment after contract signing ("immediate shipment" or "prompt shipment")

2. Factors to consider when specifying the delivery time of the contract

(1) Source factor: whether the source of goods can meet the delivery time.

(2) Transportation factor: Whether the goods can be transported to the shipping location specified in the contract on time.

(3) Market situation: The market situation of some goods varies with season (or time) and should be noted.

(4) Product situation: The moisture and heat resistance characteristics of the product should consider factors such as season and route geography.

2、 Port terms

Loading Port: Clearly and unambiguously stating that the 'loading port' is an important link in the formulation of the contract.

Destination Port: "Destination Port" is usually determined by the buyer and agreed upon by both parties.

Attention should be paid to:

1. We cannot accept ports in countries or regions where the Chinese government does not allow international trade as destination ports.

2. The regulations for the destination port must be clear and specific, and generally do not use general words such as "major ports in Europe" or "major ports in Africa". Because there is no unified international explanation for this, and the loading and unloading conditions, shipping costs, and surcharges at different ports may also vary greatly.

3. If the goods are transported to a port where there is no direct vessel or where there is a direct vessel but there are few voyages, the contract should specify a clause "allowing transshipment" to facilitate shipment.

4. The destination port must be a port where ships can safely berth.

5. For trade with landlocked countries, the nearest port that can arrange ships should generally be chosen as the destination port. Except as a intermodal carrier that can accept the entire transportation process, arrangements with inland cities as destinations are generally not acceptable.

6. The issue of duplicate names of destination ports. Many ports around the world have similar names. For ports with duplicate names, the country name should be indicated. For ports with the same name in the same country, the location of the port country must also be indicated.

7. When the destination port is the "chosen port". Some importers have not yet found the destination port where they are preparing to receive the goods when negotiating the transaction. Therefore, sometimes it may be considered to adopt the practice of specifying "port selection". However, the calculation of the selling price must be based on the port with the highest shipping cost. The selection of the port must be limited to the same shipping port on the same route, and it should be clearly stated that the additional fees for selecting the port should be borne by the buyer or included in the price of the goods; The number of "ports of choice" generally does not exceed 3. When selecting a port, the buyer must notify the shipping company or its agent of the final destination port for unloading at the first "chosen port" specified by the shipping company before the ship arrives. Otherwise, the shipping company has the right to unload at any chosen port.

3、 Partial shipment and transshipment

Partial shipment and transshipment are directly related to the rights and interests of both parties. Therefore, whether partial shipment and transshipment are possible or not is often an important part of the delivery terms in international trade export sales contracts. It needs to be clear when negotiating transactions. When international multimodal combined transport is adopted, transshipment must be allowed. Generally speaking, allowing for batch and transshipment is more proactive for the seller (except for those with clearly specified installment quantities). According to the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits of the International Chamber of Commerce, partial shipment and transshipment may be allowed unless the letter of credit provides otherwise. However, if there are no provisions for partial shipment and transshipment in the sales contract, according to foreign laws, it does not mean that partial shipment and transshipment can be carried out. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary disputes, unless the buyer insists, in principle, efforts should be made to include "allowing for partial shipment and transshipment" in the sales contract. The clauses for partial shipment and transshipment in international sales contracts are usually combined with the shipping time.

4、 Freight documents

The document terms in international trade export contracts generally only specify the name of the document submitted by the seller, some also specify the number of copies of various documents, and some also specify the specific content and requirements of each type of document.

For example:

Documents: The seller shall submit the following documents to the bank for negotiation:

(1) Full set of clean on board bills of lading;

(2) Three copies of invoice;

(3) Quality inspection certificate and reset inspection certificate issued by the China Commodity Inspection Bureau;

(4) Insurance policy.