IATA International Air Transportation Association
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
ICC 322 Uniform Rules for Collections
ICC 323 Standard Forms for Issuing Documentary Credits
ICC 420 Guide to the Prevention of International Trade Fraud.
ICC 460 Incoterms 1990. Explains the 13 standard Incoterms.
ICC 500 Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1993 revision) replaced the previous ICC 400 as from 1 January 1994.
ICC 522 Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1995 revision) replaced the previous ICC 322 as from 1 January 1996.
ILO The International Labor Organization, founded in 1919, is a Specialized Agency that forms part of the United Nations system. Each country’s delegation to the ILO includes two government, one labor, and one business representative. The ILO has developed international conventions on labor practices and called upon states to ratify and adopt these labor standards.
IMF The International Monetary Fund is an organization of governments set up at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 to stabilize currency exchange rates among trading countries. In 1971 the IMF began providing emergency loans to countries in debt to foreign creditors if they satisfied conditions, called Structural Adjustment Policies, for restructuring their economies The IMF voting system is weighted in proportion to the amount invested which means it is controlled by the major industrial powers.
Import License A permit issued by the importing country’s authorities in respect of goods subject to import licensing restrictions.
Import Quota A restricted amount of certain types of goods entering a country, usually maintained through licensing importers assigning to each a quota, after determining the amount of goods or commodities allowed for that period. The license may also state the country from which the importer is allowed to buy, thus restricting free trade, but many times adopted by governments because of internal pressures from certain industries worried about competition.
Import Subsitition Import subsitition refers to a trade policy adopted by some countries to encourage their local industries to produce goods domestically that are normally imported (thus – supposedly – helping grow new industries and reduce forex expenditures. They strive to enforce this policy by imposing high import duties on the imported goods in question and may even provide certain incentives to encourgae local companies to launch such import substitution operations. These local industries often prove inefficient and struggle to compete against their international competitors and governments are often forced to continue supporting such inefficient idnustries or see them go under when they eventually do away with such policies..
Importer’s indent See indent..
Incoterms Incoterms are a uniform set of international rules, promulgated by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, for the interpretation of the terms most commonly used in international contracts for the sale of goods. Incoterms define the obligations of buyer and seller at every stage of an international sale of goods transaction. The Incoterms were first issued in 1953; they were last revised effective January 1, 2000.
Indemnity Also known as Letter of Guarantee (L/G), it is an undertaking given in respect of discrepancies in documents presented under a credit. The beneficiary who issues the indemnity is primarily liable to repay funds received from the negotiating bank in settlement under the credit, if the negotiating bank cannot obtain reimbursement from the issuing bank as a result of documents being rejected by the applicant.
Indent The term indent is merely another word for an order or requistion stating conditions of the sale. Thus, an importer’s indent is an importer’s order and an indent number refers to the order number. Acceptance of an importer’s indent by an exporter means his agreement of terms specified in the importer’s order and will thus lead to a contract of sale..
Indirect Exporting Sale by the exporter to the buyer through an intermediary in the domestic market.
Individually Validated Export License A required document issued by the U.S. Government authorizing the export of specific commodities. This license is for a specific transaction or time period in which the exporting is to take place. Compare General export license.
Inherent Vice The propensity of a commodity to self-destruction which gives rise to a high insurance risk, therefore cover is given only after payment of an additional premium (e.g. fruit rots, coal-dust spontaneously ignites).
Inland Bill Of Lading Inland Bill Of Lading A bill of lading used in transporting goods overland to the exporters international carrier, where the ocean bill of lading becomes applicable. Although a through bill of lading can sometimes be used, it is usually necessary to prepare both an inland bill of lading and an ocean bill of lading for export shipment.
Inland Carrier A transportation line which hauls export or import freight between ports of entry and inland destinations.
Insurance An agreement or contract (commonly called a policy) between the insured, who pays a premium, and the insurer, who in return promises to compensate the insured if he suffers specified losses. It is important to have insurance cover against loss or damage which may occur during shipment. The contract with the supplier should clearly state who is responsible for arranging the insurance at all stages from the time the merchandise leaves the supplier’s premises until the buyer takes possession of the goods. The stages to be covered include:
  • Transportation of the goods to the docks or the airport
  • Time during which they are stored awaiting shipment or loading
  • Periods whilst on board the ship, aircraft or conveyance
  • Off-loading and storage on arrival in destination.
  • Transportation to the buyer’s premises.It is advisable for an importer to buy goods on FCA, FAS or FOB terms in order that he can arrange the insurance in his own country. Insurance, particularly marine insurance, is a complicated subject, and it is advisable to get a professional insurance broker to arrange cover for your shipment.
Insurance certificate A document prepared by the exporter or the freight forwarder to provide evidence that insurance against loss or damage has been obtained for the goods to be exported.
Integrated Carriers Carriers that have both air and ground fleets. Since they usually handle thousands of small parcels an hour, they have more competitive prices and offer more diverse services than regular carriers.
Integrated Tariff of the European Communities – TARIC TARIC is designed to show the various rules applying to specific products when imported into the EU. This includes the provisions of the harmonized system and the combined nomenclature but also additional provisions specified in Community legislation such as tariff suspensions, tariff quotas and tariff preferences, which exist for the majority of the Community’s trading partners. In trade with third countries, the 10-digit Taric code must be used in customs and statistical declarations.
Intellectual Property The patents, trademarks, service marks, copyrights and trade secrets of a business.
Intellectual Property Rights The right to control and derive the benefits from writing (copyright), inventions (patents), processes (trade secrets) and identifiers (trademarks).
International Chamber Of Commerce (ICC) The international body which promotes and facilitates world trade, and which codifies world trade practices in various publications
International Finance Corporation (Ifc) A separately organized member of the World Bank Group, receiving its funds through stock subscriptions from member countries, revolving loans and earnings. The IFC encourages the flow of capital into private investment in developing countries. It makes loans at commercial interest rates, usually as a lender of last resort when sufficient capital cannot be obtained from other sources on reasonable terms.
International Freight Forwarder See Freight forwarder.
Invisible trade Invisible trade generally refers to those trade-related services such as freight, insurance, and financial services that enable physical exports and imports to take place. These items are included in the current account of a nation’s balance-of-payments, even though they are not physical exports in themselves..
IRD Stands for Inland Rail Depot which is used for customs clearance.
Irrevocable Letter Of Credit A letter of credit in which the specified payment is guaranteed by the bank if all terms and conditions are met by the drawee.
Issuing Bank The bank that opens a documentary credit at the request of its customer, the applicant.