Import Export Specialist Interview Preparation Guide

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Advising Bank is bank operating in an exporter's country that handles letters of credit (see Letter of Credit) for a foreign bank by notifying the exporter that the credit has been opened in its favour. The advising bank lets the exporter know exactly what the conditions of the letter of credit are but isn't necessarily responsible for payment.

British Trade International is government body operated by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Foreign Commonwealth Office to promote trade development and promotion in the UK . Through UK Trade & Investment, it offers free and impartial advice to businesses which trade abroad, both online and through its information centre.

CFR is cost and freight. This is an Incoterm. Find more information about Incoterms at the Incoterms 2000 website. The seller clears the goods for export and meets the cost of carriage to the port in the destination country. But the buyer bears all risks after delivery, which occurs when goods pass over the ship's rail in the port of shipment. The buyer also bears any extra costs caused by events that happen after delivery.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) is intergovernmental organisation set up in 1995 to negotiate and administer trade agreements, handle trade disputes and monitor national trade policies.

SITPRO (formerly The Simpler Trade Procedures Board) is public body which aims to help businesses trade more effectively across national borders and cut the red tape associated with international trade. Find information about SITPRO at the SITPRO website.

Open account is a trade arrangement under which goods are shipped by an exporter without guarantee of payment. This is similar to offering credit to a customer, with the exporter bearing all the risks of offering credit. Open account payment should only be used if you have an established relationship with the buyer and I typically for exports within the EU.

Additional costs are the price you negotiate with overseas customers also need to include some additional costs. For example, transportation costs may include the cost of special packaging and labelling, while the detailed documentation you generally need may involve extra costs.

CIF is cost, insurance and freight. This is also an Incoterm. Find more information about Incoterms at the Incoterms 2000 website. The seller clears goods for export and meets the cost of carriage to the port in the destination country, including insurance. But the importing buyer bears all risks, except marine insurance, after delivery.

Distributor is overseas agent which sells for a supplier directly and maintains an inventory of the supplier's products. (See Commercial agent or sales agent).

Freight forwarder is if you want to send goods overseas you'll normally need the services of a freight forwarder. The forwarder quotes for freight costs and other charges, prepares most of the freighting and customs documents, arranges marine insurance and attends to other freighting details.

Letter of credit is banking mechanism that allows importers to offer secure terms to exporters.

Reduced rate of duty is some goods can be imported at a nil or reduced rate of customs duty because they originated in a preference country or are from a non-EU country and qualify for a temporary suspension of customs duty.

Get more information on which countries get preference and temporary suspension of customs duty on the Customs and Excise website. (See also Tariff quotas.)

TIR is transports internationaux routiers. International system that allows goods to be packed in a container under customs inspection at point of origin. The container can then pass across all national frontiers without being opened by customs officers.

According to value

Bill of lading is document generally issued by a shipper which acts as a receipt for goods received for carriage. In addition it provides evidence of the terms of contract between a shipper and a transport company under which goods are moved between specified places for a specified charge. And a bill of lading also acts as a transferable document of title to goods – meaning goods can be bought and sold dimply by exchange of the bill. Bills of lading are used for all modes of transport – they're known as air waybills for airfreight. See also Air Waybill.

Certificate of inspection is document certifying that certain types of goods (such as perishable items) were in good condition before shipment.

Commercial invoice is bill listing the goods and prices shipped by an exporter.

CPT is carriage paid to (named place of destination). This is an Incoterm. Find more information about Incoterms at the Incoterms 2000 website. The seller clears the goods for export and pays for delivery to the named destination. The goods are delivered when the seller passes the goods to its carrier. From this point the buyer takes responsibility for all costs and risks.

DAF is delivered at frontier (named place). This is an Incoterm. Find more information about Incoterms at the Incoterms 2000 website. The seller clears the goods for export and pays for delivery. The goods are delivered – not unloaded or cleared for import – when they arrive at the named place at the frontier of the importing country but outside the customs border. The buyer clears the goods for import and is responsible for all costs and risks from this point.

DES is delivered ex ship (named port of destination). This is an Incoterm. Find more information about Incoterms at the Incoterms 2000 website. The seller clears the goods for export and pays for delivery. Delivery occurs when the goods are placed at the disposal of the buyer on board the ship at the named port of destination. From this point the buyer bears the costs and risks of clearing the goods for import and unloading.

Export Cargo Shipping Instruction (ECSI) is the UK Government's official export credit agency. It helps UK manufacturers and investors trade overseas by providing them with insurance and backing for finance to protect against non-payment. Find information on the ECGD at the Export Credits Guarantee Department website.

Foreign-currency accounts is it may be more convenient for you to set up foreign-currency which is volatile or very weak. Some currencies present extra difficulties – for example, there may be exchange controls requiring government approval before you can exchange a particular currency.

Import paperwork is Goods imported from outside the EU require a range of import documentation and may also need an import licence. Goods in free circulation within the EU generally require minimal documentation. But if your imports exceed £221,000 you must provide Intrastat (see Intrastat) declarations to Customs for statistical purposes. And, some goods need special documentation.

Marine insurance is warehouse-to-warehouse insurance that covers exporters transporting goods overseas for losses they can't legally recover from the carrier. Despite its name, it covers all transport modes.

Standard international trade classification (SITC) is standard numerical code system developed by the United Nations to classify commodities used in international trade.