|
IC2X
Select the first letter of the topic you need from the
list above to jump to appropriate section of the
Export Reference Directory
- D -
Dairy Export Incentive Program - DEIP, one of four export subsidy programs
operated by the Department of Agriculture, helps U.S. exporters meet prevailing
world prices for targeted dairy products and destinations. USDA pays cash to
U.S. exporters as bonuses, allowing them to sell certain U.S. dairy products in
targeted countries at prices below the exporter's costs of acquiring them. DEIP
is used to help products produced by U.S. farmers meet competition from
subsidizing countries.
Danish International Development Assistance - Danish development assistance
is directed toward alleviating poverty by promoting economic growth and social
development. Recent DANIDA policy is to increase aid quality by establishing
long-term program cooperation with fewer (20-to-25) developing countries, by
emphasizing grants instead of loans, by strengthening the role of women in
development, and by promoting respect for human rights and democratic values.
About half of Danish aid is bilateral assistance intended to reach the least
privileged in the poorest countries, about half the bilateral assistance is
allocated to the countries classified by the UN as least developed countries.
Most of the remaining aid is granted as multilateral assistance through
international organizations -- the UN system, the regional development banks,
the European Community, and as humanitarian assistance. Following a May 1991
restructuring of Danish aid administration, DANIDA has ceased to exist as an
organization but is used to denote official Danish cooperation with developing
countries. That reorganization established a South Group in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as the locus of development assistance. South Group headquarters
are in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Data on Consulting Firms - DACON is a computerized roster of consulting firms
interested in doing business on World Bank-financed projects. The Bank uses
DACON registrations to select firms to be considered for short lists (that is, a
select list of firms to be invited to submit proposals) as well as to review the
qualifications of firms proposed by the borrower. Registration eligibility
includes minimum size and experience requirements. Consulting firms are not
required to register; registration does not constitute the Bank's endorsement of
the firm's qualifications or the Bank's approval of the firm's appointment for
any specific project. The use of the acronym DACON is not limited to the World
Bank; for example, the Inter-American Development Bank also maintains data on
consultants in its separately administered DACON.
Date draft - A draft that matures in a specified number of days after the date it is issued, without regard to the date of acceptance. See Draft, Sight draft, and Time draft.
Debt Swaps - See: Swaps.
Declaration by Foreign Shipper - The U.S. Customs Service defines this term
as a statement by the shipper in the foreign country attesting to certain facts.
For example, articles shipped from the United States to an insular possession
and then returned must be accompanied by a declaration by the shipper in the
insular possession, indicating that, to the best of his or her knowledge, the
articles were exported directly from the United States to the insular possession
and remained there until the moment of their return to the United States. (see
19 CFR 4.60 and 4.61 on U.S. clearance of vessels bound for a foreign port or
ports.)
Defense Conversion - "Defense conversion," as applicable to
conversion of U.S. defense activity, is the transfer of defense production
capabilities to non-defense production, either non-defense industrial products
(e.g., pumps and valves) or consumer goods. The Russians, according to their
Defense Conversion Law, have a broader definition, which includes the
possibility of a plant maintaining its defense production while expanding its
non-defense production for other purposes, including the generation of
hard-currency exports.
Defense Conversion Subcommittee - The DCS promotes trade between U.S.
industry and the Russian defense sector by identifying investment opportunities,
supporting changes in U.S. government export control and other policies which
limit opportunities for U.S. industry to participate in Russian defense
conversion activities, and identifying prospective business contacts for U.S.
industry. Subcommittee membership includes the Departments of Commerce, Defense,
Energy, Labor, and State, the Agency for International Development, the
Export-Import Bank, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. DCS is a
subcommittee of the Intergovernmental U.S.-Russia Business Development Committee
which was established in June 1992.
Defense Memoranda of Understanding - Defense MOUs are defense cooperation
agreements. The MOUs are signed by DOD with allied nations and are related to
research, development, or production of defense equipment or reciprocal
procurement of defense items. See: Coproduction.
Defense Priorities and Allocation System - The goals of the DPAS are to: (a)
assure the timely availability of industrial resources to meet current national
defense requirements and (b) provide a framework for rapid industrial expansion
in case of a national emergency. The authority for DPAS, which is administered
by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industrial Security, extends from Title
I of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (DPA). While the DPAS is
designed to be largely self-executing, Special Priorities Assistance (SPA) may
be provided, including: (a) timely delivery of items needed to fill priority
rated defense contracts, (b) granting priority rating authority, and (c)
resolving production and delivery conflicts between rated defense
contracts. See: Defense Production Act.
Defense Production Act - Under authority of the Defense Production Act (DPA)
of 1950 and related executive Order 12656, the Commerce Department is charged
with identifying critical defense-related industries, assessing their capability
to meet peacetime and national security needs, identifying current and potential
production constraints, and proposing remedial actions as appropriate.
Title I of the DPA requires that: (a) contracts or orders relating to certain
approved defense and energy programs be accepted and performed on a preferential
basis over all other contracts and orders and (b) materials, facilities, and
services be allocated in such a manner as to promote approved programs. See: Defense Priorities and Allocation System.
Defense Technology Security Administration - DTSA is the DOD organization
that reviews applications for the export of items that are subject to the
dual-use license controls of the Commerce Department and the munitions controls
of the Department of State. DTSA has about 130-to-140 staff, is located in the
Office of the Secretary, and administers DOD technology security policy so that
the U.S. is not technologically surprised on the battlefield. DTSA reviews
applications involving dual-use items for reasons of national security,
proliferation cases and munitions controls. See: Foreign Disclosure and
Technical Information System.
Defense Trade Advisory Group - In March 1992, the Department of State
established the Defense Trade Advisory Group to provide consultation and
coordination with U.S. defense exporters. DTAG members are drawn from the U.S.
defense industry, associations, academia, and foundations, and include technical
and military experts, and the State Department and observers from other
government agencies. Members of the Committee are appointed by the Assistant
Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs. DTAG has three main working
groups:
- Policy Working Group (PWG): which provides advice on broad issues of
defense trade, technology transfer and commercial arms sales in an effort to
aid State in regulating commercial munitions exports.
- Regulatory Working Group (RWG): which provides advice on possible changes
and improvements to regulations and procedures related to defense exports of
munitions articles, technical data and software related to defense articles.
- Technical Working Group (TWG): which provides on technical issues related
to the U.S. Munitions List.
Defense Trade Controls - DTC (formerly: the Office of Munitions Control, OMC)
at State administers licenses for the export of defense articles and services
including arms, ammunition, and implements of war. These items are listed in the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the U.S. Munitions List.
DTC is involved in the commodity jurisdiction (CJ) process. The CJ process is
used to determine whether a particular item should be transferred to another
control list (primarily, whether an item may be subject to the ITAR or
considered either dual-use and subject to the Commodity Control List).
See: International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Defense Trade Regulations - The Defense Trade Regulations (formerly known as
the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, ITAR) are administered by the
State Department to control the export of weapons and munitions.
Defense Trade Working Group - The Defense Trade Working Group (DTWG),
consisting of officials from Commerce, Defense, State and USTR, was established
in FY 1990 to coordinate agency policies and resources in areas concerned with
defense expenditures. The group works with industry to identify ways to target
industry needs and increase the success of industry export efforts by minimizing
government impediments, streamlining procedures, and improve the availability of
market information. The DTWG includes three subgroups:
- The Defense Exports Working Group, chaired by Commerce, which helps
implement Administration defense export policy and enhances U.S. government
support for U.S. defense exporters;
- The European Defense Cooperation Group, chaired by State, which
coordinates interagency input to U.S.-NATO International Staff for the NATO
Council on National Armaments Directors (CNAD) study on defense trade; and
- The Technology Transfer and Third Party Reexport Group, chaired by
Defense, which works with industry to define a more proactive technology
transfer regime that could be implemented within the limits of U.S. national
security and industrial competitiveness interests.
Deferred payment credit - Type of letter of credit providing for payment some time after presentation of shipping documents by exporter.
Definitional Missions - See: Trade and Development
Agency.
Delivered at Frontier - means that the seller's obligations are fulfilled
when the goods have arrived at the frontier -- but before "the customs
border" of the country named in the sales contract. The term is primarily
intended to apply to goods by rail or road but is also used irrespective of the
mode of transport.
Delivered/Duty Paid - While the term "Ex Works" signifies the
seller's minimum obligation, the term "Delivered Duty Paid", when
followed by words naming the buyer's premises, denotes the other extreme -- the
seller's maximum obligation. The term "Delivered Duty Paid" may be
used irrespective of the mode of transport. If the parties wish that the seller
should clear the goods for import but that some of the cost payable upon the
import of the goods should be excluded -- such as value added tax (VAT) and/or
other similar taxes -- this should be made clear by adding words to this effect
(e.g., "exclusive of VAT and/or taxes").
Delivery Instructions - Provides specific information to the inland carrier
concerning the arrangement made by the forwarder to deliver the merchandise to
the particular pier or steamship line. Not to be confused with Delivery Order
which is used for import cargo.
Delivery Verification Certificate - The U.S. Customs Service defines a DVC as
a form used to track imported merchandise from the custody of the importer to
the custody of a manufacturer and is used to
substantiate a manufacturing drawback claim. The DVC is also known as a
Certificate of Delivery (Customs Form 331). An export license may be
issued with a requirement for delivery verification by Customs in the receiving
country. When delivery verification is required by a foreign government for
goods imported into the U.S., the U.S. Customs Service will certify a delivery
verification certificate (Form ITA-647). A U.S. export license may require
submission of a similar form from an importing country.
Demand draft - See Sight draft.
Demurrage - Excess time taken for loading or
unloading a vessel, thus causing delay of scheduled departure. Demurrage refers
only to situations in which the charter or shipper, rather than the vessel's
operator, is at fault.
Department of Trade and Industry - See: British Overseas Trade Board.
Deposit of Estimated Duties - This refers to antidumping duties which must be
deposited upon entry of merchandise
which is the subject of an antidumping duty order for each manufacturer,
producer or exporter equal to the amount by which the foreign market value
exceeds the United States price of the merchandise. See: Tariff Act of
1930.
Derivatives - These are leveraged instruments that are linked to either
specific financial instruments or
indicators (such as foreign currencies, government bonds, share price indices,
or interest rates) or to particular commodities (such as gold, sugar, or coffee)
that may be purchased or sold at a future date. Derivatives may also be linked
to a future exchange, according to contractual arrangement, of one asset for
another. The instrument, which is a contract, may be tradable and have a market
value. Among derivative instruments are options (on currencies, interest rates,
commodities, or indices), traded financial futures, warranties, and arrangements
such as currency and interest rate swaps.
Destination Control Statement - Exporters are required to place destination
control statements on commercial invoices and bills of lading for most export
sales. These statements alert foreign recipients of goods and documents that
diversion contrary to U.S. law is prohibited. Destination control statements are
discussed in the Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR _786.5 and _786.6).
Deutsche Finanzierungsgesellschaft fr Beteilgungen in Entwicklungslndern GmbH
- DEG (English: German Financing Company for Investments in Developing
Countries) promotes direct private-sector investment in developing countries and
provides advisory services in planning and implementing jointly financed and
managed companies. DEG operations emphasize matching small and medium sized
German companies with similar third world counterparts. See: Deutsche
Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau.
Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit - The GTZ (English: German
Agency for Technical Cooperation) plans, executes, and monitors technical
cooperation projects and programs in conjunction with partner organizations in
developing countries. The agency provides advisory services to German and other
national organizations, selects and trains experts, and releases project
funds. See: Deutsche Finanzierungsgesellschaft fr Beteilgungen in
Entwicklungslndern GmbH Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau.
Devaluation - The official lowering of the value of one country's currency in terms of one or more foreign currencies. For example, if the U.S. dollar is devalued in relation to the French franc, one dollar will "buy" fewer francs than before.
Development Assistance - DA refers to specific
economic assistance provided by the Agency for International
Development. DA includes "functional" accounts that emphasize
long-term development objectives for Agriculture, Rural Development and
Nutrition; Population Planning; Health; Child Survival Fund; AIDS Prevention and
Control; Education and Human Resources Development; Private Sector; Energy and
Environment, and Science and Technology Corporation, as well as the Development
Fund for Africa, and other assistance -- the
Special Assistance Initiatives and Humanitarian and Technical Assistance for the
former Soviet Republics. See: Economic Support Fund.
Development Assistance Committee - The DAC, which consists of most members of
the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), coordinates
member country aid policies and programs to Lesser Developed Countries.
Development Bank of the Great Lakes States - The DBGLS (French: Banque du
Dveloppement des tats du Grand Lac, BDEGL) provides technical and financial
assistance to promote socio-economic development among its members: Burundi,
Rwanda, and Zaire. The Bank was established in 1977; headquarters are in Goma,
Zaire. See: Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries.
Development Fund for Africa - The DFA channels all U.S. development
assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund has put emphasis on certain
sectors, including agricultural production in connection with the preservation
of natural resources, health, voluntary family planning, education, and income
generation. The Fund is administered by the U.S. Agency for International
Development; it was enacted by Congress in 1987. See: African Development
Foundation or African Development Fund.
DISC - Domestic international sales corporation. Note:
No longer available. See Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC).
Direct Investment - Direct investment is defined in the International
Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Manual as "investment that is made to
acquire a lasting interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than
that of the investor, the investor's purpose being to have an effective voice in
the management of the enterprise." In the United States, direct
investment is defined for statistical purposes as the ownership or control,
directly or indirectly, by one person of 10 percent of more of the voting
securities of an incorporated business enterprise or an equivalent interest in
an unincorporated business enterprise. Direct investment transactions are not
limited to transactions in voting securities. The percentage ownership of voting
securities is used to determine if direct investment exists, but once it is
determined that it does, all parent-affiliate transactions, including those not
involving voting securities, are recorded under direct investment. See:
Foreign Direct Investment in the United States Foreign Person, U.S. Affiliate.
Direction des Relations Economiques Extrieures - DREE, located in the French
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Finance and Budget, is the main policymaking
agency for export promotion and credit activities. DREE oversees the activities
of other agencies that provide domestic and overseas export assistance,
including the French Center for Foreign Commerce (Centre Franais du Commerce
Extrieur, CFCE) and the French equivalent of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial
Service (the Poste d'Expansion Economique). DREE also coordinates France's
interagency position on trade issues, negotiates bilateral trade agreements, and
participates in the multilateral trade talks in the European Community and the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Within France, CFCE is the primary
point of contact for export promotion services, while overseas, the Poste
d'Expansion Economique provides promotional services to French firms. Through a
network of regional offices in France, CFCE counsels exporters and organizes
overseas trade events. CFCE also gathers and distributes trade information.
Dirty Float - Dirty float refers to a system in which the float of exchange
rates is partially determined by government intervention or restrictions to
limit appreciation or depreciation; sometimes known as managed float. See:
Clean Float.
Disclosure Meeting - An informal meeting at which ITA discloses to parties to
the proceeding the methodology used in determining the results of an antidumping
investigation or administrative review. A disclosure meeting is generally held
promptly after the preliminary or final determinations of an investigation or
promptly after the preliminary or final results of a review. See: Tariff
Act of 1930.
Discrepancy - Letter of credit - When documents presented do not conform to the letter of credit it is referred to as a discrepancy.
Dismissal of Petition - A determination made by the
Commerce Department's International Trade Administration that the petition does
not properly allege the basis on which antidumping duties may be imposed, does
not contain information deemed reasonably available to the petitioner supporting
the allegations, or is not filed by an appropriate interested party. This
dismissal causes termination of the proceeding. See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Dispatch - An amount paid by a vessel's operator to a charterer if loading or unloading is completed
in less time than stipulated in the charter party.
Distributor - A foreign agent who sells for a supplier directly and maintains an inventory of the supplier's products.
Distribution License - The DL is a Special License
that allows the holder to make multiple exports of authorized commodities to
foreign consignees who are approved in advance by the Bureau of Industrial Security. The procedure also authorizes approved foreign consignees to
reexport among themselves and to other approved countries. Applicants and
consignees must establish Internal Control Programs to ensure the proper
distribution of items under the DL. Each program must include
comprehensive procedures for ensuring that the items exported will be used only
for legitimate end-uses.
District Export Councils - DECs serve as a voluntary auxiliary of US&FCS
district offices to support export expansion activities. There are 51 DECs with
1500 members which help with workshops and also provide counseling to less
experienced exporters.
Diversionary Dumping - This occurs when foreign producers sell to a third
country market at less than fair value and the product is then further processed
and shipped to another country.
Dmarche - Official discussion
with another government carried out on instructions.
Dock receipt - A receipt issued by an ocean carrier to acknowledge receipt of a shipment at the carrier's dock or warehouse facilities. Also see Warehouse receipt.
Document Collections -- Documents Against Payment
Stipulate that the exporter ships goods to the importer without a letter of
credit or another form of guaranteed payment. The importer must sign a sight
draft before receiving the necessary documents to pick up the goods. Documents Against Acceptance (D/A) are instructions
given by a shipper to a bank stating that the documents transferring title to
goods should be delivered to the buyer only upon the signing of a time draft. In
this manner an exporter extends credit to the importer and agrees to accept
payment at a readily determined future date. See: Draft Bill of Exchange.
Documentary draft - A draft to which documents are attached.
Documents against acceptance (D/A) - Instructions given by a shipper to a bank indicating that documents transferring title to goods should be delivered to the buyer (or
drawee) only upon the buyer's acceptance of the attached draft.
Domestic Exports - Exports of domestic merchandise
include commodities which are grown, produced, or manufactured in the United
States, and commodities of foreign origin which have been substantially changed
in the United States, including U.S. Foreign Trade Zones, from the form in which
they were imported, or which have been enhanced in value by further manufacture
in the United States.
Domestic International Sales Corporation - The predecessor of the Foreign
Sales Corporation which took on a new definition as a result of the 1984 Tax
Reform Act. DISCs can now provide a tax deferral on up to $10 million of exports
so long as the funds remain in export-related investments.
Domicile - The place where a draft or acceptance is made payable.
Downstream Dumping - This occurs when foreign producers sell at below cost to
a producer in its domestic market, and the product is then further processed and
shipped to another country.
Draft (or Bill of exchange) - An unconditional order in writing from one person (the drawer) to another (the
drawee), directing the drawee to pay a specified amount to a named drawer at a fixed or determinable future date. See Date draft, Sight draft, Time draft.
Drawback - Articles manufactured or produced in the United States with the use of imported components or raw materials and later exported are entitled to a refund of up to 99 percent of the duty charged on the imported components. The refund of duty is known as a drawback.
Drawee - The individual or firm on whom a draft is drawn and who owes the stated amount. Compare
Drawer. Also see Draft.
Drawer - The individual or firm that issues or signs a draft and thus stands to receive payment of the stated amount from the
drawee. Compare Drawee. Also see Draft.
Dual Pricing - The selling of identical products in
different markets for different prices. This often reflects dumping practices.
Dumping - The sale of a commodity in a foreign market at less than fair
value. Dumping is generally recognized as unfair because the practice can
disrupt markets and injure producers of competitive products in an importing
country. Article VI of the GATT permits imposition of antidumping duties equal
to the difference between the price sought in the importing country and the
normal value of the product in the exporting country. With price-to-price
dumping, the foreign producer can use its sales in the high-priced market
(usually the home market) to subsidize its sales in the low-priced export
market. The price difference is often due to protection in the high-priced
market. Price-cost dumping indicates that the foreign supplier has a
special advantage. Sustained sales below cost are normally possible only if the
sales are somehow subsidized.
Dumping Margin - The amount by which the imported merchandise is sold in the
United States below the home market or third country price or the constructed
value (that is, at less than its "fair value"). For example, if the
U.S. "purchase price" is $200 and the fair value is $220, the dumping
margin is $20. This margin is expressed as a percentage of the United States
price. In this example, the margin is 10 percent. See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Duty - A tax imposed on imports by the customs authority of a country. Duties are generally based on the value of the goods (ad valorem duties), some other factor such as weight or quantity (specific duties), or a combination of value and other factors (compound duties).
Back to Top
- E -
East African Development Bank - The EADB was created in 1967 to promote
economic development among Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Bank headquarters are in
Kampala, Uganda.
East Asian Economic Caucus - The EAEC is a regional consultative forum
proposed by Malaysia in late 1990 under the name of East Asian Economic
Grouping. Participation would be limited to Asian nations.
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank - ECCB, established in October 1983, promotes
economic development, monetary stability and credit and exchange among eight
member nations. Bank headquarters is in Basseterre, St. Kitts.
Eastern Europe Business Information Center - EEBIC provides information on
trade and investment opportunities, trade regulations and legislation, sources
of financing, and government and industry contacts in the former Eastern Bloc.
The Center is a Department of Commerce service which was initiated in January
1990. EEBIC is a Department of Commerce service which was established in January
1990. The Center maintains a 24-hour automated flashfax system which is reached
on 202-482-5745; voice telephone is 202-482-2645.
Eco-Label - An eco-label is a voluntary mark awarded by the European
Community (EC) to producers who can show that their product is significantly
less harmful to the environment than similar products. The EC environment
ministers agreed to the concept of an eco-label in March of 1992. The EC
Commission and member states are drafting proposals for eco-labeling criteria
with the intention of providing a clear commercial benefit for developing less
polluting products and processes.
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific - See: United Nations
Regional Commissions.
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia - See: United Nations
Regional Commissions.
Economic and Social Council - ECOSOC was created in 1945 to coordinate the
economic and social work of the United Nations. The Council undertakes studies
and makes recommendations on development, world trade, industrialization,
natural resources, human rights, the status of women, population, narcotics,
social welfare, science and technology, crime prevention, and other issues. The
Council structure includes five regional commissions and six functional
commissions. The functional commissions include
- Commission on Human Rights
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs
- Commission for Social Development
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Population Commission
- Statistical Commission.
See: United Nations Regional Commissions.
Economic Commission for Africa - See: United Nations Regional Commissions.
Economic Commission for Europe - See: United Nations Regional Commissions.
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - See: United Nations
Regional Commissions.
Economic Community of Central African States - The Economic Community of
Central African States (French: Communaut Economique des ats de l'Afrique
Centrale, CEEAC) was created by the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa
to promote regional economic cooperation, eliminate trade restrictions, and
establish a Central African Common Market. Members include: Burundi, the
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,
Rwanda, Sao Tom and Principe, and Zaire. The Community was established in 1983
(became operational in 1985); headquarters are in Libreville, Gabon.
Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries - The Economic Community of
the Great Lakes Countries (French: Communaut Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs,
CEPGL) was created in September 1976 to promote regional economic cooperation
and integration. The Community is associated with the Great Lakes States
Development Bank (Banque de Dveloppement des tats des Grands Lacs). Community
members include: Burundi, Rwanda, and Zaire. Headquarters are in Gisengi,
Rwanda. See: Development Bank of the Great Lakes States.
Economic Community of West African States - ECOWAS, established in May 1975
by the Treaty of Lagos (first operating in November 1976), is an economic
association of 16 West African nations aimed at creating a full customs union
(not yet achieved) as well as social and cultural fellowship. Members include:
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
and Togo. Community headquarters are in Abuja, Nigeria.
Economic Cooperation Organization - The ECO strengthens cooperation to
improve socio-economic conditions among the populations of members. The
Organization was founded in 1964; headquarters are in Tehran, Iran. Members
include: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
Economic Officers - Embassy officials who analyze and report on macroeconomic
trends and trade policies and their implications for U.S. policies and programs.
Economic Officers represent U.S. interests and arrange and participate in
economic and commercial negotiations. See: Commercial Officers, Foreign
Service.
Economic Policy Council - The EPC was established by Executive Order in 1985
to address major trade policy issues in a single forum as a means of reducing
tensions between different groups, such as the Trade Policy Committee and the
Senior Interagency Group. The Council was modified in the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988. Membership includes Treasury (chair pro tem),
State, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Transportation, the OMB, the U.S. Trade
Representative, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Assistant to the
President for Science and Technology.
Economic Research Service - The Agriculture Department's ERS provides
expertise, data, models and research information about the agricultural
economies and policies of foreign countries, the agricultural trade and
development relationships between foreign countries and the United States, and
U.S. agricultural policies. Topics include: (a) agricultural trade and trade
policies and their relationship to the economic, technical, and political
factors affecting agricultural trade among countries; (b) economic and
agricultural market structure, efficiency, and performance of foreign countries;
(c) technical production systems of foreign countries; and (d) foreign
governments' production, consumption, monetary, and trade policies.
Economic Sanctions - Economic sanctions used for foreign policy purposes are
economic penalties, such as prohibiting trade, stopping financial transactions,
or barring economic and military assistance, used to achieve the goal of
influencing the target nation. Sanctions can be imposed selectively, stopping
only certain trade and financial transactions or aid programs, or
comprehensively, halting all economic relations with the target nation.
While sanctions can be imposed to serve multiple goals, the measures are more
successful in achieving the less ambitious and often unarticulated goals of: (a)
upholding international norms by punishing the target nation for unacceptable
behavior and (b) deterring future objectionable actions. Sanctions are
usually less successful in achieving the most prominently stated goal of making
the target country comply with the sanctioning nation's stated wishes.
Economic Stabilization Fund - The ESF is is a fund used to stabilize the U.S.
dollar in times of foreign exchange volatility. The fund is administered jointly
by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board, through its New York
offices. Fund resources, appropriated
by Congress, are usually provided fifty percent by Treasury and the Fed.
Although not a major role, the fund has also been used in swap agreements with
other countries to support their currencies. The fund was established by the
Gold Reserve Act of 1934.
Economic Support Fund - ESF is an Agency for International Development
appropriation account for funding economic assistance to countries based on
considerations of economic and foreign policy interests of the United States,
often in conjuntion with military base rights or access rights agreements.
Country allocations are determined by the State Department consistent with
Congressional earmarks. To the extent possible, the use of ESF conforms to the
basic policy directions underlying development assistance. Funds can be used for
commodity imports, balance of payments support or as cash grants for budget
support. See: Development Assistance.
Economic Zones - Economic zones are designated regions in a country which
operate under rules that provide special investment incentives, including duty
free treatment for imports, for manufacturing plants which reexport their
products. The term "economic zone" is currently used in the People's
Republic of China and the former Soviet Union. See: Free Trade Zones.
Ecotourism - Ecotourism is a broad term which encompasses nature tourism,
adventure tourism, ethnic tourism, responsible or wilderness-sensitive tourism,
soft-path or small-scale tourism, low-impact tourism, responsible or wilderness
tourism, and sustainable tourism. Scientific, educational, or academic tourism
(such as biotourism, archetourism, and geotourism) are also forms of ecotourism.
The definition of the term stresses the destinations and objectives of
ecotourism from the traveler's point of view.
Edge Act Corporations - These are banks that are subsidiaries either to bank
holding companies or other banks established to engage in international banking
and foreign investment and business transactions.
Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce, and Transportation
- EDIFACT is an international syntax used in the interchange of electronic data.
Customs uses EDIFACT to interchange data with the importing trade community.
Electronic License Application and Information Network - ELAIN
is a BXA 24-hour on-line service which allows exporters to submit license
applications electronically through value-added network vendors.
EMC - See Export management company.
Enabling Clause - Part I of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) framework which permits developed country members to
give more favorable treatment to developing countries and special treatment to
the least developed countries, notwithstanding the most-favored-nation
provisions of the GATT.
Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative - In December 1990, the United
States announced a series of measures -- collectively referred to as the
Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative (EPCI) -- to reduce certain
proliferation risks. Under the initiative, the U.S. requires licenses for
exports of: (a) precursor chemicals that can be used in making chemical weapons
and whole chemical plants to make such precursors; (b) potential chemical and
biological weapon-related industrial facilities, related designs, technologies,
and equipment; and (c) any items to destinations that raise proliferation
concerns when the exporter knows, or is informed by the Commerce Department, of
such concerns. The initiative also calls for: (d) penalties on U.S. firms
and individuals that promote the spread of chemical weapons and missile
technology; (e) control lists of (i) dual-use equipment and technologies related
to chemical and biological weapons and missiles, and (ii) countries to which
exports of such items should be controlled; and (f) multilateral adoption of the
initiative's measures.
Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility - The ESAF is a system by which the
International Monetary Fund loans concessional resources to assist poor
countries. These countries have extended balance of payments deficits and pursue
an orderly plans for correcting the deficits and promoting medium-term economic
structural adjustment and macroeconomic programs. While similar to the
Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF), ESAF has triple the resources available
for supporting structural adjustment and monitors performance more
closely. Both facilities use the Policy Framework Paper as a means for
attracting additional support structural adjustment. SAF was established in
March 1986, ESAF in December 1987; both facilities require repayments to be made
in 5 to 10 years. More than 60 countries are eligible for assistance under these
facilities. See: International Monetary Fund Policy Framework Paper.
Enterprise for the Americas Initiative - The EAI, launched in June 1990,
supports development of a new economic relationship between the United States
and Latin America. The EAI has trade investment, debt, and environment aspects.
Trade aspects include efforts to advance free trade agreements with markets in
Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly with groups of countries that have
associated for purposes of trade liberalization. As part of this process, the
U.S. seeks to enter into "framework" agreements on trade and
investment with interested countries or groups of countries. These agreements
set up intergovernmental councils to discuss and, where appropriate, to
negotiate the removal of trade and investment barriers. Investment aspects
include the establishment of an Investment Sector Loan program and the
Multilateral Investment Fund to support investment reforms. See:
Investment Sector Loan Program, Multilateral Investment Program.
Enterprise Unipersonnelle Responsabilit Limite - EURL (French: "sole
ownership limited liability company") combines features of both a
corporation and a partnership. This form of organization can be established with
only one shareholder.
Entrepot - An intermediary storage facility where goods are kept temporarily
for distribution within a country or for reexport.
Entry Summary System - An entry is the minimum amount of documentation needed
to secure the release of imported merchandise. The Entry Summary System, a part
of Customs' Automated Commercial System, contains data on release, summary,
rejection, collection, liquidation, and extension or suspension.
Entry Summary Selectivity System - The Entry Summary Selectivity System, a
part of Customs' Automated Commercial System, provides an automated review of
entry data to determine whether team or routine review is required. Selectivity
criteria include an assessment of risk by importer, tariff number, country of
origin, manufacturer, and value. Summaries with Census warnings, as well as
quota, antidumping and countervailing duty entry summaries are selected for team
review. A random sample of routine review summaries is also automatically
selected for team review.
Entry Value - The U.S. Customs Service defines entry value (or entered value)
as the value reflected on the enry documentation submitted by the importer. (see
19 CFR 141.61 for how shown on entry.)
Escape Clause - The escape clause, which can be invoked under GATT Article
XIX, allows countries to temporarily violate their GATT obligations to the
degree and time necessary to protect a domestic industry from serious
injury. Countries taking such actions,
however, must consult with affected contracting parties to determine appropriate
compensation for the violation of GATT rights, or be subject to retaliatory
trade actions. Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 requires the U.S.
International Trade Commission to investigate complaints filed by domestic
industries or workers claiming that they are injured or threatened by rapidly
rising imports. Section 203 of the Act provides that if the ensuing
investigation establishes that the complaint is valid, relief may be granted in
the form of adjustment assistance, which may be training, technical, and
financial assistance, or temporary import restrictions in the form of tariffs,
quotas, tariff rate quotas, and/or orderly marketing agreements. Import
restrictions imposed under the escape clause authority are limited in duration.
They may last no longer than five years but can be extended by the President for
a three-year period.
Escrow Account - An escrow account is a special bank account into which
earnings from sales (e.g., convertible currency proceeds from exports) are
accumulated. These revenues are set aside for subsequent acquisition of goods
and services from a foreign supplier. The escrowed money, usually
interest-bearing, is disbursed by the bank to the foreign supplier under payment
terms and against documents specified in the supplier's sale contract.
ETC - See Export trading company.
Eurobond - See: Eurodollars.
Eurocurrency - See: Eurodollars.
Eurodollars - Eurodollars are deposits of U.S. dollars in banks or other
financial institutions which are located outside the borders of the United
States. In every other way, Eurodollars
are identical to any other U.S. dollars. These same dollars are also called
offshore dollars, or depending where the money is on deposit, Asian dollars. The
use of "Euro" in connection with dollars reflects the beginnings of
holding deposits offshore. Likewise, a Eurocurrency (or external currency) is
the deposit of one nation's currency in another country. A Eurobond is a bond
which is denominated in a currency and traded in a market outside of the issuing
country.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - The EBRD provides
assistance through direct loans. The loans are designed to facilitate the
development of market-oriented economies and to promote private and
entrepreneurial initiatives. The EBRD's charter mandates that at least 60
percent of EBRD lending contribute to privatization of state-owned enterprises.
The remaining 40 percent may fund public infrastructure or environmental
projects that promote private sector development, as well as state-owned
enterprises that operate in a competitive fashion. EBRD was established in May
1990 and began financing operations in June 1991. EBRD headquarters are in
London, England.
European Coal and Steel Community - See: European Community.
European Central Bank - The ECB, as envisioned by the Treaty of Maastricht,
would be created to oversee performance of economic policy and exchange rate
policy tasks conferred on the European System of Central Banks. The ECB would
have the exclusive right to issue bank-notes within the European Community. The
national central banks would be the sole subscribers to and holders of the
capital of the ECB. The funding formula for the ECB would be based both on a
Member State's population and on its gross domestic product. The ECB will form,
together with the national central banks, the European System of Central
Banks. See: Maastricht Treaty.
European Center for Nuclear Research - See: Centre Europen de Recherche
Nucleaire.
European Coal and Steel Community - The ECSC (French: Communaut Europenne du
Charbon et de l'Acier, CECA) undertakes activities to operate a common market in
coal and steel; to remove barriers to trade in coal, coke, steel, pig-iron, and
scrap iron
European Commission - One of the five major institutions of the European
Community, the Commission is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the
Treaty of Rome and Community rules and obligations; submission of proposals to
the Council of Ministers; execution of the Council's decisions; reconciliation
of disagreements among Council members; administration of EC policies, such as
the Common Agricultural Policy and coal and steel policies; taking necessary
legal action against firms or member governments; and representing the Community
in trade negotiations with non-member countries.
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization - The European
Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, CENELEC, is a non-profit-making
international organization under Belgian law. CENELEC seeks to harmonize
electro-technical standards published by the national organizations and to
remove technical barriers to trade that may be caused by differences in
standards. CENELEC members include: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
European Committee for Standardization - The European Committee for
Standardization, or CEN (from Comit Europeen de Normalisation), is an
association of the national standards organizations of 18 countries of the
European Economic Communities (EEC) and of the European Free Trade Association
(EFTA). CEN membership is open to the national standards organization of any
European country which is, or is capable of becoming, a member of the EEC or
EFTA. CEN develops voluntary standards in building, machine tools, information
technology, and in all sectors excluding the electrical ones covered by CENELEC.
CEN is involved in accreditation of laboratories and certification bodies as
well as quality assurance.
European Community - A regional organization created in 1958 providing for
gradual elimination of intraregional customs duties and other trade barriers,
applying a common external tariff against other countries, and providing for
gradual adoption of other integrating measures, including a Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP) and guarantees of free movement of labor and capital. The original
6 members were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the
Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom became members in 1973;
Greece acceded in 1981; Spain and Portugal in 1986. The
term European Community (EC) refers to three separate regional organizations
which operate under separate treaties:
- European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),
established in 1952
- European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM),
established in 1958
- Economic Community (EEC), established in 1958.
Since 1967, the European Community have been served by four common
institutions -- the EC Commission, the EC Council, the European Parliament,
and the Court of Justice of the European Community. The present 12 member
states of the EC are also members of the ECSC and Euratom. While the
expression "European Community" (or "EC") was meant to
refer to the three Communities, frequent use of the expression "European
Community" (or "EC") has become common as a reference to the
European Economic Community (EEC). Prior to November 1, 1993 (the date
on which the Maastricht Treaty on European Union entered into force), the
acronym "EC" was used as a reference to "European
Community" and "European Communities." Part I, Article I of the
Maastricht Treaty on European Union formalized "EC" as a reference
to "European Community." The Treaty also introduced the term
"European Union" as a broader legal entity than the European
Community. See: European Coal and Steel Community, European Union.
European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations - See:
Conference Europenne des Administrations des Postes et des Tlcommunications.
European Cooperation for the Long-term in Defense - EUCLID is a coordinated
defense R&D initiative which was approved in a June 1989 meeting of the
Independent European Program Group (IEPG). EUCLID was designed to overcome
deficiencies in European defense R&D spending, minimize individual
nation's duplicative efforts, improve planning, and overcome legal and
administrative obstacles. EUCLID is divided into 11 technological categories:
(a) modern radar technology, (b) microelectronics, (c) composite structures,
(d) modular avionics, (e) electric gun, (f) artificial intelligence, (g)
signature manipulation, (h) opto-electronic devices, (i) satellite
surveillance technologies (including verification), (j) underwater acoustics,
and (k) "human factors," including technology for training and
simulation. Each of the 11 categories
is assigned a lead coordinating nation.
European Court of Justice - The ECJ, located in Luxembourg, was established
in 1958 to support interpretation and application of European Community law.
The Court has jurisdiction to settle actions brought by: (a) the Commission
against member states for failing to implement EC legislation, (b) the member
states against EC institutions, referrals for interpretations from national
courts where a question of EC law is at issue, and individuals under a
provision of EC law.
European Currency Unit - The ecu is a "basket" of specified
amounts of each E.C. currency. Amounts were determined according to the
economic size of EC members, all of whose currencies participate in the ecu
basket. In the European Monetary System (EMS), the ecu is used as a basis for
setting central rates in the exchange rate mechanism, as an accounting unit,
and as a reserve instrument and means of settlement among EMS central banks.
The ecu is not used by persons. Under provisions of the Maastricht
Treaty, the ecu is scheduled to be adopted as the single European currency in
Stage III of European Monetary Union (by 1999 at the latest). The composition
of the basket comprising the ecu was frozen on November 1, 1993 in accordance
with a provision of the Maastricht Treaty which entered into force also on
November 1. See: Maastricht Treaty.
European Development Fund - The EDF is the principal means by which the
European Economic Community provides aid, concessionary finance, and technical
assistance to developing countries. The
Fund was originally established in 1958 to grant financial aid to dependencies
of the six nations which founded the EEC.
European Economic Area - The EEA, which became effective in January 1994,
consists of Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the 12 member
nations of the European Union. The EEA, encompassing an area inhabited by 370
million people, allows for the free movement of goods, persons, services and
capital throughout all 17 countries. It also opens cooperation possibilities
in many areas, including research and development, environment, promotion of
tourism, social, and consumer policy. Following the negative result of
the Swiss referendum in December 1992, the remaining six countries of the
European Free Trade Association (Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Norway, and Sweden) signed an Adjusting Protocol in March 1993 with the intent
to proceed without Switzerland. The Adjusting Protocol contains provisions
which allow Switzerland to participate in the EEA at a later stage if it so
wishes. Liechtenstein will remain a Contracting Party to the European Economic
Area Agreement, but it will not be part of the EEA until the EEA Council
decides that the accord's good functioning will not be impaired.
Liechtenstein's status in the EEA accord was reviewed following Switzerland's
negative vote on the EEA in a December 1992 referendum. In particular,
Liechtenstein's customs union with Switzerland requires renegotiation. Significant differences exist between the EEA and
full membership in the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEA is a free
trade area, not a customs union. Border controls between the EEC and EFTA,
while relaxed, are expected to continue. EFTA will not adopt the EEC's Common
Customs Tariff nor participate in the Common Commercial Policy or Common
Agricultural Policy. EFTA nations will continue to set their own tariffs for
third countries subject to GATT and OECD agreements. Further change is
anticipated with Austria, Finland, Norway, and Sweden expected to join the
European Economic Community by January 1995 or shortly afterwards. See: European Economic Community, European Free
Trade Association European Union.
European Free Trade Association - EFTA is a regional organization
established in December 1959 by the Stockholm Convention as an alternative to
the Common Market. EFTA was designed to provide a free trade area for
industrial products among member countries. In contrast with the EC, EFTA does
not have a common external tariff and nor a common agricultural trade policy.
Original EFTA members included the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Norway,
Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland. The UK, Denmark, and Portugal left the
Association when they joined the EC. EFTA currently has seven members:
Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland --
Austria and Sweden have applied for EC membership. Association headquarters
are in Geneva, Switzerland.
European Investment Bank - The Luxembourg-based EIB, established in 1957,
is an independent public institution set up the Treaty of Rome to contribute
to balanced and steady development in the European Community. The EIB provides
loans and guarantees to companies and public institutions to finance regional
development, structural development, and achieve cross-border
objectives. The EIB has emphasized
regional development and energy, with Italy, Greece, and Ireland receiving
major support.
European Monetary and Cooperation Fund - The EMCF, originally created in
1973, was revised and linked with the European Monetary System in 1979. While
intended to support the European Currency Unit and support a reserve system of
central banks, the Fund has been used to keep account of short-term borrowings
and support currencies through intervention in foreign exchange markets at the
request of member states. The Fund uses the Bank for International Settlements
as its agent.
European Monetary Institute - Under provisions of the Maastricht Treaty,
the EMI will manage the national currency reserves of EC central banks and
encourage international acceptance of the European Currency Unit (ECU). The
EMI is also intended to strengthen coordination of monetary policies among
European Community member states and to study and develop the infrastructure
and procedures required for the conduct of single monetary policy. The EMI
will be established on January 1, 1994. See: Maastricht Treaty.
European Monetary System - The EMS was created in 1979 to support monetary
stability, move Europe toward closer economic integration, and avoid
disruptions in trade resulting from fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
EMS members deposit gold and dollar reserves with the European Monetary
Cooperation Fund (EMCF) in exchange for the issuance of European currency
units (ecu). The EMS has three main
features: the ecu, an exchange rate and intervention mechanism, and credit
mechanisms to support member countries. All EC members except Greece and
the United Kingdom participate in the exchange rate mechanism of the
EMS. See: European Currency Unit, Exchange Rate Mechanism.
European Monetary Union - See: Maastricht Treaty.
European Norm - The "EN" mark is a designation of a standards
directive issued by CEN (Comit Europen de Normalisation) or CENELEC (Comit
Europen de Normalisation Electrotechnique). Notations regarding En generally
don't appear on the product. See: Conformit Europene.
European Organization for Testing and Certification - The EOTC promotes
mutual recognition of tests, test and certification procedures, and quality
systems within the European private sector for product areas or
characteristics not covered by EC legislative requirements. The Organization
was created in April 1990 by the European Community Commission under a
memorandum of agreement with CEN/CENELEC and the European Free Trade
Association countries. EOTC headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
European Patent Convention - The European Patent Convention, EPC, is an
agreement between European nations to centralize and standardize patent law
and procedure. The EPC, which took effect in 1977, established a single
"European patent" through application to the European Patent Office
in Munich. Once granted, the patent matures into a bundle of individual
patents -- one in each member country designated by the patent applicant.
Patent applicants must indicate the countries to which they wish to have
patent protection.
European Patent Office - The EPO (German: Europeisches Patentamt; French:
Office Europen de Brevets) promotes easier, cheaper, and more reliable patent
protection by establishing a single procedure for granting patents on the
basis of a single European patent law. Standards are available in English from
the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Office was established in
October, 1973; its headquarters are in Munich, Germany. EPO membership is not
open to the U.S., but close relations are maintained through the Commerce
Department's Patent and Trademark Office.
European Research Coordination Agency - The European Research Coordination
Agency, EUREKA, coordinates advanced technology projects being carried out by
European industry. The Agency was created in 1985; headquarters are in
Brussels, Belgium; membership includes the European Community countries, plus
Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, and Turkey.
European Space Agency - The ESA designs and coordinates construction of
satellite and launching systems. Members include: Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
European System of Central Banks - The ESCB, as envisioned by the Treaty of
Maastricht, would be created for the primary purpose of maintaining price
stability within the European Community. The ESCB would be composed of the
European Central Bank and of the central banks of the Members States. It would
be independent of national governments and Community authorities. See:
Treaty of Maastricht.
European Technical Approval - An ETA is a favorable technical assessment of
the fitness for use of a product for an intended use, based on the fulfillment
of the essential requirements for building works for which the product is
used, as provided for under the EC Construction Products Directive
(89/106/EEC). A European technical approval may be granted to products for
which there is neither a harmonized European standard, nor a recognized
national standard, nor a mandate for a harmonized standard; and to product
which differ significantly from harmonized or recognized national standards.
Such approval permits free circulation of the products within the member
countries of the European Community and the European Free Trade Association.
European Telecommunications Standards Institute - ETSI (French: Institut
Europen des Normes des Tlcommunication; German: Europisches Institut fr
Telekummonikationsstandards) was established in March 1988 in response to the
inability of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations (CEPT) to keep up with the schedule of work on common European
standards and specifications agreed to in the 1984 Memorandum of Understanding
between CEPT and the EC. ETSI has a contractual relationship with the EC to
pursue standards development for telecommunications equipment and services,
and it cooperates with other European standards bodies such as CEN/CENELEC.
ETSI membership includes the telecommunications administrations that
constitute the CEPT as well as manufacturers, service providers, and
users. See: Confernece Europenne des Administrations des Postes et des
Tlcommunications.
European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC, founded in 1973, is the primary
organization which speaks for European trade unions. ETUC consists of more
than 30 organizations in 20 Western European countries and has over 40 million
members. The Confederation's principal goal is to influence European policies
affecting workers; it is active with the European Community, the Council of
Europe, the European Free Trade Association, and the OECD Trade Union Advisory
Committee. ETUC headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
European Union - The EU is an umbrella reference to the European Community
(EC) and to two European integration efforts introduce by the Maastricht
Treaty: Common Foreign and Security Policy (including defense) and Justice and
Home Affairs (principally cooperation between police and other authorities on
crime, terrorism, and immigration issues). The term "European Union"
was introduced in November 1993 (when the Maastricht Treaty on European Union
entered into force). The term "European Community" (EC) continues to
exist as a legal entity within the broader framework of the EU. See:
European Community, Maastricht Treaty.
Evidence Account - An evidence account is an umbrella agreement contracted
between a Western supplier and a government agency in a developing country
(e.g., an industrial ministry, or a provincial or state authority), which is
designed to facilitate reciprocal trade flows. The agreement stipulates trade
conditions between the Western firm, other independent firms designated by it,
and commercial organizations under the jurisdiction of the developing country
signatory. It also requires that the cumulative payment turnovers for the
trade goods, not payments of individual transactions, be balanced in an
agreed-upon proportion within a specified period of time (typically 1 to 3
years). Trade flows are monitored and financial settlements occur through
banks designated by the agreement's signatories.
Evidence of Origin - Information presented in the Exporter's Certificate of
Origin (or Customs Form 353) that certifies that the goods described are
eligible for a preferential rate of duty under a trade program.
Ex - From. When used in pricing terms such as "ex factory" or "ex dock," it signifies that the price quoted applies only at the point of origin (in the two examples, at the seller's factory or a dock at the import point). In practice, this kind of quotation indicates that the seller agrees to place the goods at the disposal of the buyer at the specified place within a fixed period of time.
Excess-Currency Country - A country where the local
currency supply available to the U.S. Government for conducting official
business exceeds U.S. requirements for the 2 years following the year for which
the designation is made.
Exchange Rate - The price of
one currency expressed in terms of another, i.e., the number of units of one
currency that may be exchanged for one unit of another currency.
Influences on exchange rates include differences between interest rates and
other asset yields between countries; investor expectations about future changes
in a currency's value; investors' views on the overall quantity of
dollar-denominated assets in circulation; arbitrage; and central bank exchange
rate support. See: Exchange Rate Classifications.
Exchange Rate Classifications - Following are the different types of possible
exchange rate regimes and how they work:
- Single Currency Peg: the country pegs to a major currency -- usually the
U.S. dollar or the French franc -- with infrequent adjustment of the parity;
- Composite Currency Peg: the country pegs to a basket of currencies of
major trading partners to make the pegged currency more stable than if a
single currency peg were used. The weights assigned to the currencies in the
basket may reflect the geographical distribution of trade, services, or
capital flows. They may also be standardized, as in the Special Drawing
Right (SDR) and the European Currency Unit (ECU);
- Limited Flexibility vis-a-vis a Single Currency: the value of the currency
is maintained within certain margins of the peg;
- Limited Flexibility Through Cooperative Agreements: this applies to
countries in the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System and
is a cross between a peg of individual EMS currencies to each other and a
float of all these currencies jointly vis-a-vis non-EMS currencies;
- Greater Flexibility Through Adjustment to an Indicator: the currency is
adjusted more or less automatically to changes in selected indicators. A
common indicator is the real effective exchange rate, which reflects
inflation-adjusted changes in the currency vis-a-vis major trading partners;
- Greater Flexibility Through Managed Float: the central bank sets the rate
but varies it frequently. Indicators for adjusting the rate include, for
example, the balance of payments position, reserves, and parallel market
developments. Adjustments are not automatic;
- Full Flexibility Through an Independent Float: rates are determined by
market forces. Some industrial countries have floats -- except for the EMS
countries -- but the number of developing countries in this category has
been increasing.
See: Crawling Peg System, Exchange Rate.
Exchange Rate Mechanism - The ERM is a program through which member countries
of the European Economic Community agree to maintain parity in exchange rates
among their currencies. Limits are set on the amounts by which exchange rates
may vary between any two currencies. If an exchange rate reaches the limit, the
central banks of the two countries intervene in the market to ensure that the
limit is not exceeded. The ERM was established in 1979 with agreement by
Belgium, France, West Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Denmark to limit
fluctuation in the bilateral exchange rates between their currencies to 2.25%.
Italy, which was also a member, did not limit fluctuation to 25% until 1990.
Spain joined in 1989, the UK in 1990, and Portugal in 1992, each agreeing to a
wider band of 6% fluctuation in the bilateral exchange rates in the value of
their currencies against other ERM members. Disruptions in September 1992 led to
the withdrawal of Italy and the UK and to some parity realignments. The ERM has
since resumed, with provisions allowing currency fluctuations of 15
percent.
Exchange permit - A government permit sometimes required by the importer's government to enable the import firm to convert its own country's currency into foreign currency with which to pay a seller in another country.
Exchange rate - The price of one currency in terms of another, that is, the number of units of one currency that may be exchanged for one unit of another currency.
Ex-"From" - When used in pricing terms
such as "Ex Factory" or "Ex Dock," it signifies that the
price quoted applies only at the point of origin (in the two examples, at the
seller's factory or a dock at the import point). In practice, this kind of
quotation indicates that the seller agrees to place the goods at the disposal of
the buyer at the specified place within a fixed period of time.
Ex Quay - "Ex Quay" means that the seller makes the goods available
to the buyer on the quay (wharf) at the destination named in the sales contract.
The seller has to bear the full cost and risk involved in bringing the goods
there. There are two "Ex Quay" contracts in use: (a) Ex Quay
"duty paid" and (b) Ex Quay "duties on buyer's account" in
which the liability to clear goods for import is to be met by the buyer instead
of by the seller.
Ex Ship - "Ex Ship" means that the seller will make the goods
available to the buyer on board the ship at the destination named in the sales
contract. The seller bears all costs and risks involved in bringing the goods to
the destination.
Ex Works - Ex Works (EXW) at a named point of origin (examples are: ex
factory, ex mill, ex warehouse). Under this term, the price quoted applies only
at the point of origin and the seller agrees to place the goods at the disposal
of the buyer at a specified place on the date or within the period fixed. All
other charges are for the account of the buyer.
Exclusive Economic Zone - The EEZ refers to the rights of coastal states to
control the living and nonliving resources of the sea for 200 miles off their
coasts while allowing freedom of navigation to other states beyond 12 miles, as
agreed at the sixth session of the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The EEZ also gives the coastal states the responsibility for managing the
conservation of all natural resources within the 200-mile limit.
Eximbank - Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Exon-Florio - The "Exon-Florio" provision
(section 721 of the Defense Production Act) provides the President with
authority to investigate proposed or pending mergers, acquisitions, and
takeovers by or with foreign persons to determine their effects on national
security. The provision also grants the President authority to suspend or
block those transactions that lead to control of a domestic firm by a foreign
person if the President determines that the foreign purchaser might take actions
that would threaten the national security. See: Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States Foreign Direct Investment in the United States.
Export Administration Act - The EAA of 1979, as amended, authorizes the
President to control exports of U.S. goods and technology to all foreign
destinations, as necessary for the purpose of national security, foreign policy,
and short supply. As the basic export
administration statute, the EAA is the first big revision of export control law
since enactment of the Export Control Act of 1949. The EAA is not a permanent
legislation; it must be reauthorized -- usually every three years. There have
been reauthorizations of the EAA in 1982, 1985 (the Export Administration
Amendments Act), and 1988 (Omnibus Amendments of 1988) which have changed
provisions of the basic Act. The Act was extended in 1993 until June 30, 1994.
Export Administration Regulations - The Export Administration Regulations
provide specific instructions on the use and types of licenses required and the
types of commodities and technical data under
control.
Export Administration Review Board - The EARB is a cabinet-level export
licensing dispute resolution group. The EARB was originally established in June
1970 under Executive Order 11533. Under
Executive Order 12755 of March 1991, EARB membership includes Commerce (as
chair), State, Defense, and Energy, and Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and,
as non-voting members, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence
Agency. The EARB is final review body to resolve differences among agency views
on the granting of an export license. [Preceding EARB review are: (a) an
interagency committee known generally as the "Operating Committee" and
(b) the Advisory Committee on Export Policy.] National Security Directive 53
requires escalation of disputes regarding an export license to the Advisory
Committee on Export Policy (ACEP) not later than 100 days from the filing date
of the applicant's application. Any cases not resolved at the ACEP level must be
escalated to the EARB within a specified number of days of the date of the ACEP
meeting. Cases not resolved by the EARB must be escalated to the President for
resolution.Export broker - An individual or firm that brings together buyers and sellers for a fee but does not
take part in actual sales transactions.
Export Broker - An individual or firm that brings together buyers and sellers
for a fee but does not take part in actual sales transactions.
Export commission house - An organization which, for a commission, acts as a
purchasing agent for a foreign buyer.
Export Control Commodity Number - See: Export
Control Classification Number.
Export Contact List Service - The ECLS is an ITA service that provides
mailing lists of prospective overseas customers from ITA's file of foreign firms
(the Foreign Traders Index). The ECLS identifies manufacturers, distributors,
retailers, service firms, and government agencies. A summary of the information
on the company includes contact information, product and service interests, and
other data.
Export Control Automated Support System - ECASS was implemented by the
Commerce Department in 1985 to automate a paper-based system. The system
currently provides: electronic submission of application forms directly with the
use of value-added network vendors; optical character recognition of
applications submitted on paper; paperless workstations for all licensing
officers to review the application, route it to other officers, branches, or
external agencies, and to enter their final action along with most riders and
conditions; automated audit of all licenses issued; and real time management
reporting on Licensing Officer workloads, average processing times, counts and
times by license type, destination country, commodity code, and other data.
Export Control Classification Number - Every product has an export control
classification number (formerly: Export Control Commodity Number) within the
Commerce Control List. Each ECCN consists of five characters that identify the
category, product group, type of control, and country group level of control.
Export Credit Enhanced Leverage - The export credit enhanced leverage, EXCEL,
program was developed in 1990 by the World Bank in conjunction with a working
group of the International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (the Berne
Union). The objective of EXCEL is to provide export credits at consensus rates
for private sector borrowers in highly indebted countries, which would
previously have been too great a risk for most agencies to cover.
Export Credit Guarantee Department - The ECGD of the Department of Industry
and Trade is the primary source of official British export credit. The ECGD
helps exporters by providing: a) insurance against the risk of not being
paid for exports and (b) guarantees to banks for exporters of capital goods,
under which finance can be obtained for export business, often at a favorable
rate of interest. Subject to
Parliamentary approval, ECDG's short-term underwriting division, the Insurance
Service Group, is to be privatized. The medium and long-term underwriting group
is introducing a new system for assessing premiums which will more realistically
reflect the risk involved. The Department was originally established in 1919;
headquarters are in London, England.
Export Credit Guarantee Programs - See: General Sales Manager.
Export declaration - See Shipper's export declaration.
Export Development Corporation - EDC is Canada's
official export credit agency, responsible for providing export credit
insurance, loans, guarantees, and other financial services to promote Canadian
export trade.
Export Disincentives - Export disincentives are policies which may serve to
deter U.S. exports, such as sanctions, export controls, and domestic and
regulatory policies with a coincidental impact of handicapping U.S.
competitiveness.
Export Enhancement Act of 1992 - The Export Enhancement Act of 1992 required
the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to issue by September 30,
1993, and annually thereafter, a report containing "a government wide
strategic plan for Federal trade promotion efforts" and describing its
implementation. The legislation requires the TPCC to establish in the strategic
plan priorities for federal trade promotion and explain the rationale for these
priorities. The act also requires the
TPCC to include in the plan a strategy for bringing federal trade promotion
activities into line with the new priorities and for improving their
coordination. The TPCC is also required to propose in the plan a means for
eliminating overlap among federal trade promotion activities and increasing
cooperation between state and federal trade promotion efforts. The act requires
that the TPCC include in the strategic plan a proposal to the President for an
annual unified budget for federal trade promotion activities. This budget is to:
(a) reflect the new priorities and improved interagency coordination and (b)
eliminate funding for areas of overlap and duplication among federal
agencies. See: Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee.
Export Enhancement Program - The EEP, one of four export subsidy programs
operated by the Department of Agriculture, is intended to enhance U.S. trade
policy strategies and objectives and to expand U.S. agricultural exports.
Under the EEP, the Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation
provides bonuses to U.S. exporters to enable them to be price competitive and
thereby sell U.S. agricultural products in targeted overseas markets in which
competitor countries are making subsidized sales. EEP-eligible commodities have
included: wheat, wheat flour, rice, frozen poultry, barley, barley malt, table
eggs, feed grains and vegetable oil.
Export-Import Bank of Japan - JEXIM is Japan's official provider of export
credits. About 10 percent of JEXIM's business is providing export credits. The
bank's main role is to disburse about half the funds available under the trade
surplus recycling program (the Nakasone facility). See: Japan
International Cooperation Agency, Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund.
Export-Import Bank of the United States - Eximbank was chartered in 1934 as
an independent agency to finance the export of U.S. goods and services. Eximbank
offers four major export finance support programs: loans, guarantees, working
capital guarantees, and insurance. Eximbank undertakes some of the risk
associated with financing the production and sale of American-made goods;
provides financing to overseas customers for American goods when lenders are not
prepared to finance the transactions; and enhances a U.S. exporter's ability to
match foreign government subsidies by helping lenders meet lower rates, or by
giving financing incentives directly to foreign buyers. Eximbank's
information hotline number is 1-800-424-5201. See: Commercial Risk,
Political Risk, Private Export Funding Corporation.
Export Information System - The EIS is a classified automated system for
export licensing operations maintained by the Department of Energy. See: Export
Control Automated Support System.
Export Legal Assistance Network - The Export Legal Assistance Network, ELAN,
sponsored by SBA, is a nationwide group of
attorneys with experience in international trade who provide free initial
consultations to small businesses on export-related matters. Telephone:
202-778-3080.
Export license - A government document that permits the licensee to export designated goods to certain destinations. See General export license and Individually validated export license.
Export License Voice Information System - ELVIS is a
BXA 24-hour on-line service which allows exporters to obtain recorded
information on such topics as commodity classifications, emergency handling
procedures, and seminars as well as to order information. 202-482-4811.
Export Limitation - A provision that limits the recipient country's volume of
exports of commodities that are the same as, or like, the commodities being
furnished by the United States under a P.L. 480 ("Food for Peace")
sales agreement. The export of the actual commodities is also prohibited,
with the latter prohibition being termed an export restriction.
Export Limitation Period - The period during which the recipient country must
restrict exports of commodities which are considered to be the same as, or like,
those supplied under P.L. 480 ("Food for Peace").
Export management company - A private firm that serves as the export department for several producers of goods or services, either by taking title or by soliciting and transacting export business on behalf of its clients in return for a commission, salary, or retainer plus commission.
A good example is http://www.exportinstitute.com,
a group of successful export management consultants with
hands-on experience in 60 foreign markets. They have been
assisting exporters worldwide since 1964.
Export Merchant - A company that buys products
directly from manufacturers, then packages and marks the merchandise for resale
under its own name.
Export Processing Zones - EPZs are a form of free trade zone which provide
incentives for industrial or commercial export activity. Export processing zones
are located in developing countries and are usually in defined areas, industrial
parks, or facilities which provide free trade zone benefits and usually offer
additional incentives, such as exemption from normal tax and business
regulations. The zones, which began appearing around 1975, are sometimes
referred to as Special Economic Zones or Development Economic Zones. See:
Free Trade Zones.
Export Promotion - Export promotion refers to the collective programs a
nation has to help companies sell products abroad. These programs may include
business counseling, training, and representational assistance, as well as
providing market research information, trade fair opportunities and export
financing assistance.
Export Quotas - Specific restrictions or target objectives on the value or
volume of exports of specified goods imposed by the government of the exporting
country. These restraints may be intended to protect domestic producers and
consumers from temporary shortages of certain materials, or as a means to
moderate world prices of specified commodities. Commodity agreements sometimes
contain explicit provisions to indicate when export quotas should go into effect
among producers. Export quotas are also used in connection with orderly
marketing agreements and voluntary restraint agreements.
Export Restraint Agreements - See: Voluntary Restraint Agreements.
Export Revolving Line of Credit - The Export Revolving Line of Credit, ERLC,
is a form of financial assistance provided by the Small Business Administration
(SBA). The ERLC guarantees loans to U.S. firms to help bridge the working
capital gap between the time inventory and production costs are disbursed until
payment is received from a foreign buyer. SBA guarantees 85 percent of the ERLC
subject to a $750,000 guarantee limit. The ERLC is granted on the likelihood of
a company satisfactorily completing its export transaction. The guarantee
covers default by the exporter, but does not cover default by a foreign buyer;
failure on the buyer's side is expected to be covered by letters of credit or
export credit insurance. Under SBA's ERLC program, any number of
withdrawals and repayments can be made as long as the dollar limit on the line
of credit is not exceeded and disbursements are made within the stated maturity
period (not more than 18 months). Proceeds can be used only to finance labor and
materials needed for manufacturing, to purchase inventory to meet an export
order, and to penetrate or develop foreign markets. Examples of eligible
expenses for developing foreign markets include professional export marketing
advice or services, foreign business travel, and trade show participation. Under
the ERLC program, funds may not be used to purchase fixed assets.
Export Statistics - Export statistics measure the total physical quantity or
value of merchandise (except for shipments to U.S. military forces overseas)
moving out of the United States to foreign countries, whether such merchandise
is exported from within the U.S. Customs territory or from a U.S. Customs bonded
warehouse or a U.S. Foreign Trade Zone.
Export Subsidies - Generally, direct government payments or other economic
inducements given to domestic producers of goods that are sold in foreign
markets. The GATT recognizes the export subsidies may distort trade, unduly
disturb normal commercial competition, and hinder the achievement of GATT fair
trade objectives; but it does not clearly define what practices constitute
export subsidies. See: Subsidies.
Export Trade Certificate of Review - A certification of partial immunity from
U.S. antitrust laws that can be granted based on the Export Trading Company Act
legislation by the Department of Commerce with Department of Justice
concurrence. Any prospective or present U.S.-based exporter with antitrust
concerns may apply for certification.
Export Trading Company - An ETC is a
company doing business in the United States principally to export goods or
services produced in the United States or to facilitate such exports by
unaffiliated persons. The ETC can be owned by foreigners and can import, barter,
and arrange sales between third countries, as well as export. An ETC is
demand-driven and transaction-oriented. Generally, an ETC takes title to the
products involved, but may work on a commission basis. See Export
Management Company
Export Trading Company Act - The Export Trading Company Act of 1982:
initiates the Export Trade Certificate of Review program that provides antitrust
preclearance for export activities; permits bankers' banks and bank holding
companies to invest in ETCs; establishes a Contact Facilitation Service within
the Commerce Department designed to facilitate contact between firms that
produce exportable goods and services and firms that provide export trade
services.
Exporter Data Base - The EDB, operating on a pilot basis in 1992, provides
data on the number of exporters, their distribution in cities and states, and
their economic characteristics. The EDB, developed by the Commerce Department's
International Trade Administration and the Census Bureau links commodity data
from millions of U.S. export declarations to the Bureau's various databases on
the business characteristics of U.S. firms.
Exporter's Certificate of Origin - The U.S. Customs Service defines an
Exporter's Certificate of Origin (also known as Customs Form 353) as a document
completed by the exporter, certifying that the goods described therein are
eligible for a preferential rate of duty under some trade program such as the
U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement. (See 19 CFR 10.37(d)(1).)
Exporter's Sales Price - ESP is a statutory term used to refer to the United
States sales prices of merchandise which is sold or likely to be sold in the
United States, before or after the time of importation, by or for the account of
the exporter. Certain statutory
adjustments are made to permit a meaningful comparison with the foreign market
value of such or similar merchandise, e.g., import duties, United States selling
and administrative expenses, and freight are deducted from the United States
price. See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Extended Fund Facility - The EEF is an arrangement by which the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) may provide assistance to its members to enable them to meet
their balance of payments needs for longer periods and in larger amounts than
are available under the IMF's credit tranche policies. See: International
Monetary Fund.
Back to Top
- F -
FAS - Free alongside ship. A pricing term indicating that the quoted price includes the cost of delivering the goods alongside a designated vessel.
FCA - "Free carrier" to named place. Replaces the former term "FOB named inland port" to designate the seller's responsibility for the cost of loading goods at the named shipping point. May be used for multimodal transport, container stations, and any mode of transport, including air.
FCIA - Foreign Credit Insurance Association.
FI - Free in. A pricing term indicating that the charterer of a vessel is responsible for the cost of loading and unloading goods from the vessel.
Floating policy - See Open policy.
FO - Free out. A pricing term indicating that the charterer of a vessel is responsible for the cost of loading goods from the vessel.
FOB - "Free on board" at named port of export. A pricing term indicating that the quoted price covers all expenses up to and including delivery of goods upon an overseas vessel provided by or for the buyer.
FOB Airport - based on the same principle as the
ordinary FOB term. The seller's obligations include delivering the goods to the
air carrier at the airport of departure. The risk of loss of or damage to the
goods is transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods have been so
delivered.
Factoring - the discounting of a foreign account
receivable that does not involve a draft. The exporter transfers title to its
foreign accounts receivable to a factoring house for cash at a discount from the
face value. Factoring is often done without recourse to the exporter.
Export factoring allows an exporter to ship on "open account," by
which goods are shipped without guarantee of payment (that is, a letter of
credit). The factor assumes financial ability of the customer to pay and handles
collections on the receivables. See: Factoring House, Forfaiting.
Factoring Houses - Certain companies which purchase export receivables (e.g.,
the invoices to foreign buyers) at a discounted price, usually about two to four
percent less than their face value.
Fair Value - The reference against which U.S. purchase prices of imported
merchandise are compared during an antidumping investigation. Generally
expressed as the weighted average of the exporter's domestic market prices, or
prices of exports to third countries during the period of investigation.
In some cases fair value is the constructed value. Constructed value is used if
there are no, or virtually no, home market or third country sales or if the
number of such sales made at prices below the cost of production is so great
that remaining sales above the cost of production provide an inadequate basis
for comparison. See: Tariff Act of 1930.
FAM Tour - Familiarization tour for travel agents or journalists planned and
executed by a destination or region, usually in cooperation with an
international airline.
Fast Track - procedures for approval of trade agreements were included by
Congress in trade legislation in 1974, in 1979, and again in the 1988 Trade Act.
Fast track provides two guarantees essential to the successful negotiation of
trade agreements: (1) a vote on implementing legislation within a fixed period
of time, and (2) a vote, up or down, with no amendments to that
legislation. Provisions in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of
1988 include that the foreign country request negotiation of an FTA and that the
President give the Congress a 60-legislative-day notice of intent to negotiate
an FTA. During the 60-legislative-day period, either committee can disapprove
fast track authority by a majority vote. Disapproval would likely end the
possibility of FTA negotiations. The 60-legislative-days can translate into five
to ten months of calendar time, depending on the Congressional schedule. Formal
negotiations would begin following this 60-day Congressional consideration
period.
Feasibility Studies - See: Trade and Development Agency.
Federacion Mundial de Instituciones Financieras de Desarollo - See: World
Federation of Development Financing Institutions.
Federal Grain Inspection Service - FGIS certifies that grain produced in the
United States meets the official United States Standards for Grain. As part of
its responsibilities, FGIS works with international traders. Before any grain
can be exported from the United States, it must first be certified by FGIS as
having met a specific standard. FGIS staff explain the national inspection
system, U.S. grain standards, and commodity inspection programs; conduct
briefings and tours; assess foreign inspection and weighing techniques; and
respond to inquiries about quality and quantity of U.S. grain exports. FGIS
agencies in eight states are delegated authority to perform official export
services at ports.
Federal Maritime Commission - The FMC is an independent agency which
regulates ocean borne transportation in the foreign commerce and in the domestic
offshore trade of the United States.
Final Determination - The International Trade Administration makes a final
determination after the investigation of sales at "less than fair
value" and the receipt of comments from interested parties. This
determination usually is made within 75 days after the date a preliminary
determination is made. However, if the preliminary determination was
affirmative, the exporters who account for a significant proportion of the
merchandise under consideration may request, in writing, a postponement of this
determination. If the preliminary determination was negative, the petitioner may
likewise request a postponement. In neither case can this postponement be more
than 135 days after the date of the preliminary determination. If the final
determination is affirmative and follows a negative preliminary determination,
the matter is referred to the International Trade Commission for a determination
of the injury caused or threatened by the sales at less than fair value. (Had
the preliminary determination been affirmative, the ITC would have begun its
investigation at that time.) Not later than 45 days after the date the
International Trade Administration makes an affirmative final determination, in
a case where the preliminary determination also was affirmative, the
International Trade Commission must render its decision on injury. Where the
preliminary determination was negative, the ITC must render a decision not later
than 75 days after the affirmative final determination. A negative final
determination by the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration terminates an
antidumping investigation. See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures System - The Fines, Penalties, and
Forfeitures System, FPFS, a part of Customs' Automated Commercial System, is
used to assess, control, and process penalties resulting from violations of law
or Customs regulations. FPFS provides retrieval of case information for
monitoring case status.
Five-K Countries .... 5(k) Countries Those
countries as defined under Section 5(k) of the Export Administration Act. Such
countries are eligible for some or all of the same treatment as CoCom countries
in relation to export control requirements if those countries maintain
comparable export control programs. See: Coordinating Committee on
Multilateral Export Controls.
Flag of Convenience - A ship registered under the flag of a nation which
offers conveniences in the areas of taxes, crew, and safety requirements.
Fondo Financiero Para el Desarrollo de la Cuenca del Plata - FONPLATA
(English: Plata Basin Financial Development Fund) finances prefeasibility and
feasiblity studies, engineering designs, and projects in its member countries
(Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). The
Fund encourages cofinancing with international development institutions to
increase project impact. Loan financing is available for infrastructure,
industrial, livestock education, and health projects.
FONPLATA was established in 1976; headquarters
are in Sucre, Bolivia. The Fund is an outgrowth of the April 1969 Plata Basin
Treaty (entered into force, August 1970) which sought to coordinate development
of the region, including navigation, control of acquatic resources, and use of
natural resources.
Fondo para el Fomento de las Exportaciones de Productos Manufacturados FOMEX
(the Export Fund), is a trust established by the Mexican government to increase
employment and to increase the balance of payments and the international reserve
levels. FOMEX uses loans and loan guarantees to help exporters of manufactured
goods and services and importers who wish to substitute imports with nationally
produced goods.
Food and Agricultural Organization - The FAO was established in 1945, as a
specialized agency of the United Nations to combat hunger and malnutrition. The
FAO serves as a coordinating body between government representatives,
scientific groups, and non-governmental organizations to carry out development
programs relating to food and agriculture. Headquarters are in Rome,
Italy.
Food For Development - See: Food for Peace.
Food for Peace - The "Food for Peace" program (also known as "P.L.
480), originally established by the 1954 Agricultural Trade and Development Act,
is the primary means by which the U.S. provides foreign food assistance. The
three primary objectives of the program are to: (a) expand U.S. agricultural
exports, (b) provide humanitarian relief, and (c) aid the economic development
of developing countries. Commodities are transferred in two ways:
- By government-to-government long-term concessional financing or for local
currencies in which priority is given to developing countries which
demonstrate the greatest need for food, are undertaking measures to improve
their food security and agricultural development, and are potential
commercial markets for U.S. agricultural commodities -- Title I,
administered by the Department of Agriculture; and
- Donations or grants, including: + Donations of food commodities for
distribution in meeting either emergency conditions or international
cooperative non-emergency assistance -- Title II, administered by AID; and +
Providing food assistance on a grant basis to least developed countries
through government-to-government agreements. Proceeds derived from sales on
the local market may be used to support a variety of economic development
and related activities in the recipient countries -- Title III, administered
by AID. This assistance is sometimes known as "Food For
Development." See: Food for Progress, Section 416
Food For Progress - The "Food for Progress" program, established by
the 1985 Farm Bill, is carried out by the Department of Agriculture, using the
authority of either Public Law 480 or Section 416 of the Agricultural Act of
1949. The program donates surplus government-owned agricultural commodities or
Title I (of P.L. 480) funds to needy
countries for development and agricultural reform purposes. Food for Progress
operates in a less restrictive manner than either P.L. 480 or Section 416.
See: Food for Peace, Section 416.
Force majeure - The title of a standard clause in marine contracts exempting the parties for nonfulfillment of their obligations as a result of conditions beyond their control, such as earthquakes, floods, or war.
Foreign Access Zone - FAZ is a term adopted by Japan
for its form of free trade zone. FAZs are the outgrowth of Japan's effort to
improve its trade balance and to stimulate regional economic areas. FAZs are
intended to be established around airports and seaports, with facilities
(warehouses, cargo-sorting, distribution, import processing, wholesale,
design-in centers, exhibition halls) on an international scale. The FAZ concept
-- which emphasizes imports rather than the processing and job creation --
extends from the July 1992 Law on Extraordinary Measures for the Promotion of
Imports and the Facilitation of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan. Passage of
the law is linked to the Structural Impediments Initiative (SII). See:
Free Trade Zones, Structural Impediments Initiative.
Foreign Affairs Administrative Support - The FAAS program is the mechanism
used by the Department of State (DOS) to define the additional costs it incurs
for providing services necessary to support the overseas operations of agencies
external to DOS. Under FAAS, DOS funds core costs required for its own programs
while the supported agencies fund incremental costs of their service
requirements. These latter costs are shared through the application of workload
factors which measure agency participation in the services.
Foreign Affiliate - See: Affiliate.
Foreign Affiliate of a Foreign Parent - A foreign affiliate of a foreign
parent is, with reference to a given U.S. affiliate, any member of the
affiliated foreign group owning the U.S. affiliate that is not a foreign parent
of the U.S. affiliate.
Foreign Agricultural Service - The FAS, an agency of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, collects foreign market information regarding agricultural
production and trade, develops foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products,
and represents U.S. agricultural interests overseas and in multilateral fora.
FAS maintains over 60 counselor and attache posts, located in U.S. embassies and
consulates, and about fifteen Agricultural Trade Offices (ATOs) which provide
market development and trade promotion services in overseas locations. FAS also
administers USDA's export credit and concessional sales programs. FAS
headquarters are located in Washington, D.C.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office - The FCO, equivalent to the U.S. State
Department, is Britain's Diplomatic Service, with posts in about 170 countries.
Among its functions, the FCO supports overseas trade and export promotion
services in cooperation with Britain's Department of Trade and Industry.
Foreign Assets Control - The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets
Control, OFAC, administers sanctions programs involving specific countries and
restricts the involvement of U.S. persons in third country strategic
exports.
Foreign Assistance Act of 1991 - This Act replaced the Support for East
European Democracy (SEED) Act. The Foreign Assistance Act allows support to 26
countries, including all East European nations and most of the Soviet republics,
but not to the Soviet Union itself.
Foreign Availability - The Bureau of Industrial Security conducts reviews
to determine the foreign availability of selected commodities or technology
subject to export control. The reviews use four criteria to determine foreign
availability: comparable quality, availability-in-fact, foreign source,
and adequacy of available quantities that would render continuation of the U.S.
control ineffective in meeting its intended purpose. A positive determination of
foreign availability means that a non-U.S. origin item of comparable quality may
be obtained by one or more proscribed countries in quantities sufficient to
satisfy their needs so that U.S. exports of such item would not make a
significant contribution to the military potential of such countries. A positive
determination may result in the decontrol of a U.S. product that has been under
export control, or the approval of an export license. However, the control may
be maintained if the President invokes the national security override provision
of the Act. Beginning with the 1977 amendments to the Export
Administration Act, the Congress directed that products with foreign
availability be identified and decontrolled unless essential to national
security. In January 1983, a program to assess the foreign availability of
specific products was established within the Office of Export Administration,
now the Bureau of Industrial Security, or BXA. Further, 1985 amendments to the
Act directed that an Office of Foreign Availability be created.
Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act - The FBSEA, passed in 1991,
increased the Federal Reserve's supervisory powers over foreign banks by: (a)
requiring Federal Reserve review before a foreign bank enters or expands in the
United States; (b) tightening the standards for entry and expansion that must be
considered by the Federal Reserve; (c) requiring Federal Reserve Board approval
of U.S. representative offices of foreign banks; and (d) requiring that each
U.S. office of a foreign bank be examined at least once a year by the Federal
Reserve. See: International Banking Act.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service - FBIS and the Joint Publication
Research Service (JPRS) publish political, military, economic, environmental,
and sociological new, commentary, and other information, and scientific and
technical data reports. All FBIS and JPRS information is obtained from foreign
radio and television broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, books,
and periodicals.
Foreign Buyer Program - The Foreign Buyer Program, FBP, is a joint
industry-International Trade Administration program to assist exporters in
meeting qualified foreign purchasers for their product or service at trade shows
held in the United States. ITA selects leading U.S. trade shows in industries
with high export potential. Each show selected for the FBP receives promotion
through overseas mailings, U.S. embassy and regional commercial newsletters, and
other promotional techniques. ITA trade specialists counsel participating U.S.
exhibitors.
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission - The FCSC is authorized to determine
claims of United States nationals for loss of property in specific foreign
countries. These losses have occurred either as a result of nationalization of
property by foreign governments or from damage and loss of property as a result
of military operations in specific conflicts. The Commission is an independent
quasi-judicial agency within the Justice Department.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - The FCPA prohibits U.S. individuals,
companies and direct foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies from offering,
promising, or paying anything of value to any foreign government official in
order to obtain or retain business.
Foreign Direct Investment in the United States - Foreign direct investment in
the United States is the ownership or control, directly or indirectly, by a
single foreign person (an individual, or related group of individuals, company,
or government) of 10 percent or more of the voting securities of an incorporated
U.S. business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated U.S.
business enterprise, including real property. Such a business is referred to as
a U.S. affiliate of a foreign direct investor. See: Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States, Foreign Person, Portfolio Investment.
Foreign Disclosure and Technical Information System - FORDTIS is a classified
information system that contains an automated database of munition and dual-use
export licenses. The system is maintained by the Defense Department's Defense
Technology Security Administration. See: Defense Technology Security
Administration, Export Control Automated Support System.
Foreign Economic Trends - FETs are reports prepared by U.S. embassies abroad
to describe foreign country economic and commercial trends and trade and
investment climates. The reports describe current economic conditions;
provide updates on the principal factors influencing developments and the
possible impacts on American exports; review newly announced foreign government
policies as well as consumption, investment, and foreign debt trends.
Foreign exchange - The currency or credit instruments of a foreign country. Also, transactions involving purchase or sale of currencies.
Foreign Exchange Option - A
foreign exchange option is an arrangement in which a
purchaser and a seller of foreign currencies agree on a
specific rate of exchange at a future date. The purchaser
may choose to exercise or pass up the option -- thus setting
a limit on unfavorable exchange rates. The seller is given a
fee for tendering the option. Purchasers may exercise the
option at any time -- in the European option, currency
exchange is made on the originally established date; in the
American option, exchange is made within a couple of days of
the purchaser exercising the option. See: Forward
Exchange Rate.
Foreign Exports - Exports of foreign merchandise
(re-exports), consist of commodities of foreign origin which
have entered the United States for consumption or into
Customs bonded warehouses or U.S. Foreign Trade Zones, and
which, at the time of exportation, are in substantially the
same condition as when imported.
Foreign Flag - A reference to a carrier not registered in
| 
