Incoterms 2000 Guide

ign="center">where responsibility changes hands geographically,
Can't understand Chinese and you can't rememberplease note that they do not deal with ownership of
your basic school French? No problem, you'll have nothe goods being sold.
trouble understanding traders around the world onceThe terms range from EXW (Ex Works) which is the
you've got your head around Incoterms.case where the buyer pays for insurance, shipment
If you've ever wondered about those 3 letterand all fees to the other extreme - DDP (Delivery Duty
abbreviations - FPB, CIF Manchester,FAS Mumbai -Paid) where the seller takes on all the costs of
then continue reading.delivery.
Incoterms are used by import-export traders globallyCopyright of the 13 abbreviated terms belongs to the
to specify the terms of their sales contracts, so itICC.
would be worth your while understanding what theyStrict rules exist to govern how they are used and
mean.what they mean. The International Chamber of
Traders the world over find that communicating withCommerce, ICC, recommends that ' Incoterms 2000'
each other is made much easier once Incotermsbe referred to whenever the terms are used and it is
(International Commercial Terms) are used.generally recommended that the actual place where
So that buyers and sellers can work out exactly whatthe handover of responsibilities takes place is included
their costs and responsibilities are during any tradewith the Incoterms.
deal, both parties need to be clear about what theSo a correct use would be: CPT Tokyo Incoterms
terms of the deal are. Points of great interest in any2000.
transaction occur when ownership and paymentAlthough they are not legally binding, their universal
responsiblities transfer from one party to the other.acceptance means they should be mentioned as early
Incoterms make it clear when these points areas possible in any negotiation and should definitely be
reached. So the system allows all parties to easilywritten into the contracts to avoid misunderstandings
determine which of them is charged for what aspectlater on.
of the trade and who takes on certain risks atA thorough understanding of how to use Incoterms
particular points during the trade.should ensure you avoid most of the major problems
A standardised set of abbreviations was compiled byconnected with international trade.
the Paris based International Chamber of CommerceAnd here they all are:
(ICC) in 1936.EXW, FCA, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, DAF, DES,
The definitions were established from the point ofDEQ, DDU, DDP.
view of the seller. Whilst they are used to agree