Export glossary – S

Sacu The Southern African Customs Union is one of the oldest trading blocks that originated in 1889 and includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. See also US-SACU FTA
Sanction A punitive mechanism used. to encourage a country to adopt or revise its policies. Trade sanctions might include increases in tariffs.
Saps Structural Adjustment Programs Are a tool used by organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank that primarily impose neoliberal rules in exchange for loans or grants. Typical SAPs include emphasizing exports over goods produced for people locally; eliminating all barriers to the flow of goods, services and money from outside the country; keeping inflation low and wages stagnant; privatizing public services; reducing government spending; and balancing government budgets.
Schedule The Remitting/Negotiating Bank’s letter covering a bill sent to the Collecting/Issuing Bank, which lists the documents attached and gives collection and/or payment instructions.
Seawaymax refers to vessels which are the maximum size that can fit through the canal locks of the St Lawrence Seaway that link the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Seawaymax vessels are 740 feet in length, 78 feet wide, (maximum 226 m length, 24 m beam) and have a draft of 26 feet (7.92 m). Source
Self-Liquidating A transaction is said to be self-liquidating when there is a known source of funds available for its settlement on due date.
Shipment Date The date inserted on the bills of lading evidencing goods received on board is regarded for documentary credit purposes as being the date of shipment.
Shipper See consignor
Shipper’s Export Declaration A form required for all shipments by the U.S. Treasury Department and prepared by a shipper, indicating the value, weight, destination, and other basic information about an export shipment.
Shipping Guarantee (Sg) Guarantees of this nature are required to enable customers to obtain goods before the arrival of the documents of title, and are issued to the shipping companies by the Bank against an undertaking to forward the bills of lading when they are received. The Bank normally take 100% cash margin against the value of the goods if the customer does not have T/R facility.
Shipping Terms See Incoterms
Ship’s Manifest An instrument in writing, signed by the captain of a ship, that lists the individual shipments constituting the ship’s cargo.
Sight A bill payable at sight is payable on presentation to the drawee i.e. on demand.
Sight Draft (S/D) A draft payable upon presentation to the drawee. A sight draft is used when the seller wishes to retain control of the shipment, either for credit reasons or for the purpose of title retention. Money will be payable at sight of the completed documents.
Sovereignty The principle that the state exercises absolute power over its territory, system of government, and population. Accordingly, the internal authority of the state supersedes that of all other bodies.
Spot Exchange The purchase or sale of foreign exchange for immediate delivery.
Standard Industrial Classification (Sic) A standard numerical code system used by the U.S. Government to classify products and services.
Standard International Trade Classification (Sitc) A standard numerical code system developed by the U.N. to classify commodities used in international trade.
Standby Credit This may be established as security for facilities granted at another branch or bank, usually to a subsidiary of the DC applicant. – see Special DCs.
Standby Letter Of Credit A letter of credit issued to cover a particular contingency, such as foreign investors guaranteed payment for commercial paper.
Status Report Produced by a bank’s TCI department or a credit information bureau, giving details of the creditworthiness and business background of traders and manufacturers.
Steamship Conference A group of steamship operators that operate under mutually agreed upon freight rates.
Straight Bill Of Lading A nonnegotiable bill of lading in which the goods are consigned directly to a named consignee.
Strikes, Riots And Civil Commotions (S.R.&C.C.) A term referring to an insurance clause excluding insurance of loss caused by labor disturbances, riots and civil commotion or any person engaged in such actions.
Subsidies Grants of money made by the government to either a seller or a buyer of a certain product or service, thereby altering the price or cost in a way which affects the output. Governments usually make payments to domestic producers to offset partially their costs of producing and selling certain goods and services. Subsidies are commonly used to support infant firms just entering a new market, to bail out older firms suffering from intensified competition, and to provide support for sectors(such as farming) deemed essential
Substitution The act whereby the prime beneficiary substitutes his own documents i.e. invoices and drafts, in back-to-back and transferable credit operations prior to negotiation of the master credits.
Subzone A special purpose zone established as part of a zone project for a limited purpose, that cannot be accommodated within an existing zone.
Sue And Labor Clause A provision in marine insurance obligating the insured to take necessary steps after a loss to prevent further loss and to act in the best interests of the insurer.
Suezmax is a naval term for the largest ships capable of fitting through the Suez Canal fully loaded, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. Since the canal has no locks, the only serious limiting factor is draft (maximum depth below waterline). The current channel on the canal allows for 16 m (53 ft) of draft (or depth), meaning many supertankers are of too deep to fit through. Currently, the canal is being deepened to 18 – 20 m. The typical displacement of a Suezmax ship is 150 000 tons. Of note is the head room limit of 68 meters by the Suez Canal bridge. There is also a width limitation of 70.1 meters, but only a handful of tankers exceed this size, and they are excluded from Suez by their draft in any case.
Surety bond A surety bond must be posted with the Customs Service to cover potential penalties, duties, or taxes before imported merchandise can be entered into the United States.
Sustainability Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable Growth Growth that does not negatively affect the poor, workers and the environment; economic growth that is just and fair and improves the likelihood of such growth in the future.