ICC Archives

The Latest ICC Incoterms® 2010 Guide Offers Present-Day Trade Practices

Published on March 29, 2011

Order your copy now!

The new version of Incoterms rules accurately reflect present-day trade practices.
The new version of Incoterms rules accurately reflect present-day trade practices.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), USCIB’s affiliate, has published the ICC Guide to Incoterms® 2010 to serve as a practical resource for users of these rules, which are applied by companies for countless business transactions worldwide.

The latest edition of the rules, set forth in ICC’s book Incoterms® 2010, came into effect in January 2011 and takes into account developments in global trade since the rules were last revised in 2000. While contracts for the sale of goods incorporating earlier versions of the Incoterms rules are still viable, it is suggested that users refer to Incoterms® 2010 for new transactions.

The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), ICC’s American national committee, has organized a series of training seminars throughout the United States to explain the changes to the Incoterms® 2010 rules.

ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world.  Its thousands of member companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as ICC’s American national committee.

The new version has been modified to ensure that the Incoterms rules clearly and accurately reflect present-day trade practices. The number of rules has been reduced from 13 to 11 and two new rules have been created: Delivered at Terminal (DAT) and Delivered at Place (DAP).

“The Guide supports Incoterms rules, which are the standard in international business rules-setting,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “It’s an effective tool that users can use to refer to Incoterms® 2010.”

ICC first published the Incoterms rules, short for “international commercial terms”, in 1936 to help traders avoid misunderstandings by defining the costs, risks, and responsibilities of both buyers and sellers in contracts for the sale of goods. They were a significant step in bringing legal certainty to business transactions, while simplifying the drafting of international and domestic contracts.

The Incoterms® 2010 rules have been updated to expand treatment of cargo security, which has been at the forefront of the transportation agenda for many countries since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, as well as the increased use of electronic communications in business transactions.

“While globalization has made it easier to do business internationally, technological and political changes have also made the rules governing transactions more complex,” said Jan Ramberg, author of the Guide and renowned trade expert. “We consulted broadly with the global business community on these issues to create an easy reference guide that allows users to apply the right rules to their contracts of sale.”

The 216-page ICC Guide to Incoterms® 2010 is an essential reference for both first-time and experienced users of the rules, with practical guidance on the exchange of information, packaging goods, transport documents, as well as the transfers of risks and costs from one party to another.

Order both the ICC Guide to Incoterms® 2010 and Incoterms® 2010 from USCIB International Bookstore.

Incoterms® is a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Global Trade Recovery Faces Difficulties Across Many Low-Income Countries

Published on March 29, 2011
Most respondents agreed in the Survey that business on the whole has been significantly improving since the final quarter of 2009
Most respondents agreed in the Survey that business on the whole has been significantly improving since the final quarter of 2009

Global trade flows rebounded across many regions in 2010, according to latest trade and finance global survey from USCIB’s affiliate, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), but high pricing meant that traders in many low-income countries still faced difficulties accessing affordable trade finance.

Representatives from 210 banks in 94 countries responded to the ICC survey, which asked for their opinion, as well as statistics, on the current trade finance landscape in their respective countries. The survey, the fourth consecutive ICC poll of its kind, registered 30 percent more responses than in the previous year, in terms of the number of banks.

Recovery worldwide has been driven by increased trade in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as between Asia and the rest of the world, according to the survey. Other regions, especially Africa, continued to have stressed markets, and the cost of trade finance also remained high in many parts of Asia and Latin America.

Traders in many low-income countries still have considerable difficulty accessing trade finance at an affordable cost, particularly for import finance. One positive development is that the average price for letters of credit, or “L/Cs”, in large emerging economies fell from 150-250 basis points in 2009 to 70-150 basis points in 2010.

“What is needed now is a more targeted use of resources, focusing on the poorer countries and small and medium sized enterprises around the world,” said Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization. “They should not be paying the high price for the repair and re-regulation of the global finance industry.”

Most respondents, however, agreed in the survey – which was commissioned by the WTO Expert Group on Trade Finance to track the developments in the industry – that business on the whole has been significantly improving since the final quarter of 2009. Markets in several advanced economies are quickly returning to normal trading conditions, in terms of liquidity and the availability of trade finance. The acceptance of risk and pricing has also become more favorable.

The 2003-2010 SWIFT trade traffic figures, which were provided to ICC on an exclusive basis, confirm that, overall, the downward trend in volumes experienced in 2008 and 2009 is now over. There were a total of 42.9 million transactions registered in 2010, representing a 5.81 percent increase over 2009 volumes, which stood at 40.5 million (rounded).

Results have been uneven across regions, according to SWIFT. Asia-Pacific continues to register far greater volumes for sent (import) messages. The regions with the largest volumes   ̶  Asia-Pacific, Europe-Eurozone and North America   ̶  showed larger fluctuations than those with smaller volumes.

Africa showed the highest growth between 2009 and 2010, at 21.2 percent, followed by Asia-Pacific with 10.1 percent and Central & Latin America with 9.7 percent. However, it was the large volume of transactions in Asia that drove the upswing in SWIFT traffic, rather than Africa, where volumes were small.

Banks responding to the ICC Survey witnessed an increasing demand for bank-intermediated L/Cs, which are particularly favoured by traders and producers in developing countries with weak institutions.

Survey respondents were concerned about the impact of new regulatory initiatives, in particular the new requirements of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision document known as Basel III, on the financing of international trade.

There has been concern that a one-size-fits-all approach to regulation could threaten trade finance in emerging markets dependant on trade.

Banks argue that rules set by bank regulators impose capital requirements on trade finance and are disproportionately high considering the relative safety of these mechanisms. The rules, they say, force them to lock up funds that could otherwise be used to support trade.

The Survey revealed that respondents are not only wary of these regulations, but also do not have a clear understanding of them. When asked the question “Do you anticipate that the Basel III requirements will cause your bank to re-assess its trade finance strategy and products?” 34 percent indicated that the new regulatory regime would make their financial institution reconsider its trade finance strategy. At the same time, 57 percent of respondents answered that they were lacking sufficient information on the new regulations.

“The regulators should step up their engagement with the industry and seek feedback to ensure that the regulations are on track to achieving what they are intended to accomplish,” said ICC Banking Commission Chair Kah Chye Tan.

ICC research has shown that, contrary to the beliefs underpinning new regulations, trade finance is low risk and self-liquidating in nature. In 2010, ICC developed the International Trade Credit (Loss) Register for collecting performance data in trade finance.

The register specifically examined the default risk of trade finance instruments between 2005 and 2009. Out of some 5.2 million transactions, with a total value of over US$2.5 trillion, ICC found that off-balance sheet trade finance transactions had an average tenor of just 80 days and an insignificant incidence of default. Even during the global economic downturn, trade finance transactions had relatively low default levels, with fewer than 500 defaults for 2.8 million transactions.

“This initiative is particularly useful in providing evidence that trade finance is safe and worth promoting,” said Mr. Lamy.

More on USCIB’s Banking Committee

ICC Elects New Chairman

Published on March 16, 2011
Gerard Worms
Gerard Worms

The International Chamber of Commerce, USCIB’s affiliate, announced that Gerard Worms, vice chairman of Rothschild Europe and chairman of ICC France, has been named chairman of ICC, succeeding Rajat Gupta, who has requested that his membership on ICC’s Executive Board be suspended.

Having chaired ICC France for the past three years, Mr. Worms brings strong business credentials and excellent contacts with major governments, including in his home country, which will host this year’s G20 Summit.  He is former chairman and CEO of Suez Group, and a commander of the French Legion of Honor.  Mr. Worms has also served as chairman of Banque Indosuez and the insurance group Victoire.

ICC website

Business Seeks to Take UN Green Growth Talks to the Next Level

Published on March 4, 2011
Business supports international cooperation towards greening economies and jobs.
Business supports international cooperation towards greening economies and jobs.

Under the auspices of USCIB’s affiliate the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), business representatives were front and center at UN preparatory talks last month in advance of next year’s landmark “Rio+20” environmental summit.

Martina Bianchini, director of EU government affairs and public policy for the Dow Chemical Company, and chair of ICC’s Green Economy Task Force, led the world business organization’s delegation to the 2011 UN Environment Program (UNEP) ministerial and governing council meetings.

The meetings, held February 17-24 in Nairobi, brought together environment ministers from over 80 countries to consider critical next steps in preparing the environmental input to the Rio+20 Conference in 2012.  Issues under discussion included new measures on chemicals, e-waste and heavy metals, and options to strengthen international environmental government institutions.

Speaking at a forum attended by UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and U.S. Environmental Protection Authority Administrator Lisa Jackson, Ms Bianchini said: “Business supports international cooperation towards greening economies and jobs: in our view, to reach its full potential, the green economy concept must become global, seeking to green all elements of the economy.  The objective is to foster innovation, rather than mandate it.”

The ICC Green Economy Task Force plans to review and provide comments on the UNEP Green Economy Report, which was released at the Nairobi meetings.  Attending the UNEP meetings, Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for energy and environmental affairs, highlighted the report’s importance for considering how businesses across all sectors will contribute to progress towards environmental innovation, job creation and economic growth.  “The right enabling frameworks will amplify the opportunities for greener technologies and investments needed to take sustainable development to the next level,” she said.

Green economy, green growth policy and market options are being discussed in the G20, the OECD and a variety of other intergovernmental forums.  The “greening” of economies and jobs is seen as a response to a variety of economic, food, energy and environmental crises, and is an organizing theme of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development to take place in Rio in 2012.

The ICC Green Economy Task Force was launched in October 2010 to provide international and multi-disciplinary business input via BASD2012 to Rio+20 preparations, and to engage with UNEP and other intergovernmental forums.  ICC will also co-host the UNEP global business dialogue in April to provide more in depth comments on the Green Economy Report, and showcase business’ major contributions in delivering jobs, investments and solutions required for the transition to a green economy.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

ICC website

Banking Rules Set to Drive Discussion at the ICC Banking Commissions 80th Anniversary Meeting

Published on March 3, 2011

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), USCIB’s affiliate, will hold its annual Banking Commission meeting this year from March 21-23 in Zurich, Switzerland, where more than 250 members including bankers, business leaders, finance experts and government officials, are set to attend. Some topics of discussion will feature a presentation of the 2011-2015 strategy, as well as discussion on key policy topics from International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP), to the ICC Register on Trade and Finance, to counter terrorist financing and anti-money laundering.  The ICC is presenting its new Banking Commission to members at the upcoming meeting as part of an effort to encourage dialogue, make policy recommendations and develop rules to improve trade finance. Leading experts in trade and finance will speak at the meeting. A highlight of the meeting will be the release of the findings from the ICC Global Survey 2011, which covers the year 2010, achieved record participation levels, with around 210 respondents from 94 countries.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

More on USCIB’s Banking Committee

ICC Secretary General Joins UN Global Compact Board

Published on March 1, 2011

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jean-Guy Carrier, secretary general of USCIB’s affiliate the International Chamber of Commerce to the board of the UN Global Compact, an initiative encouraging companies to align their operations with 10 principles including human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Mr. Carrier will contribute a world business perspective on the Compact’s work.

The Global Compact represents more than 8,700 corporate participants and other stakeholders from at least 130 countries and is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. It is the UN’s highest-ranking advisory body involving business and civil society, which also provides participants with resources for advancing sustainable business models and markets. The 23 board members who provide strategic and policy advice for the Global Compact also oversee implementation of the initiative’s integrity measures.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee

ICC-Ifo Survey: Global Economic Climate at Four-Year High

Published on February 16, 2011
More than three-quarters of the economists surveyed agreed that currency wars are a signal of looming protectionist measures.
More than three-quarters of the economists surveyed agreed that currency wars are a signal of looming protectionist measures.

A key world economic confidence measure has reached its highest level since 2007, indicating that economic activity overall is picking up.  This according to the quarterly World Economic Survey, from USCIB affiliate the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research.

The world economic climate indicator rose significantly, after a slight decline in the fourth quarter of 2010, and is now above its long-term average. It rose based on assessments from 1,117 experts in 119 countries who responded to the survey questions on both the current situation, as well as the six-month outlook.

Growth was more broadly distributed in the first quarter of 2011 than in the previous year, according to the survey, while protectionism emerged as a growing concern for experts in light of the threat of currency wars.

“These results are very promising because they point to the type of wide-reaching growth that in the long run leads to sustainable development,” according to ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “However, the threat of greater protectionism worldwide is worrying and remains a very real threat to blocking this growth.”

The indicator reached 106.8, measuring significantly above its long-term average of 96.9, calculated between 1991 and 2010. The global economic outlook was less fuelled by the BRIC countries − Brazil, Russia, India and China, where forecasts are now more moderate − and to a larger extent by encouraging signs from North America.

In the United States, exports, capital expenditures and private consumption were expected to grow, according to the survey’s respondents. These results indicate that the recovery in the U.S. is gaining momentum and that a so-called “double-dip”, or renewed economic downturn, is not likely.

Click here for the full press release on the ICC-Ifo survey and accompanying charts.

More on the International Chamber of Commerce

McGraw Hill CEO Is Elected Vice Chair of World Business Body

Published on February 8, 2011

International Chamber of Commerce also elects new secretary general

Harold McGraw III
Harold McGraw III

Paris and New York, N.Y., February 8, 2011 – The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has selected USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies [now S&P Global], to serve as vice chairman of the global business body.  ICC’s World Council elected Mr. McGraw at a recent meeting in Paris, where it also confirmed Jean-Guy Carrier as secretary general.

ICC is the world business organization that represents private-sector views to national governments and intergovernmental bodies around the world.  It advocates for free trade and the market economy, working through a network of national committees and direct members in over 120 countries.  USCIB serves as ICC’s American national committee.

“ICC continues to serve as a strong business advocate during a time when governments around the world are making policy decisions that will shape the global economy for decades to come,” Mr. McGraw said. “To create a stronger and more sustainable global business environment we must not delay pursuing an agenda that promotes trade, investment and the completion of the Doha Round; addresses the challenge of global climate change; encourages high-tech innovation; and improves the protection of intellectual property.”

Mr. McGraw, who has chaired USCIB since last year, succeeds Stephen Green, former chairman of HSBC, who has gone on to become U.K. trade minister.  He joins Rajat Gupta, ICC’s chairman and senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Co., and Victor Fung, ICC honorary chairman and chairman of Li & Fung Group, in the world business body’s senior leadership.

Mr. McGraw was elected chairman of The McGraw-Hill Companies in December 1999, chief executive officer in 1998 and president and chief operating officer in 1993. He has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 1987.

Appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama to the U.S.-India CEO Forum in November 2009, Mr. McGraw is also a member of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.  He serves on the boards of United Technologies and ConocoPhillips, and chairs the Emergency Committee for American Trade and the U.S.-India Business Council.

Before his appointment as ICC’s secretary general, Mr. Carrier was director of programs for the ICC Research Foundation and will continue in that role.  Prior to joining ICC, he held senior positions in business and with international organizations, most notably the World Trade Organization.  He is the author of several books and has published numerous articles in national and international media.

“It is an honor to be part of such a unique global business organization,” said Mr. Carrier.  “ICC provides a forum for companies and other business organizations to examine and better comprehend the major shifts happening in the world economy.  Working with the business community worldwide to help shape the economy of the future is an exciting challenge and responsibility.”

Contacts:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Alba Rooney, ICC (Paris)
+33 1 49.53.28.22 or alba.rooney@iccwbo.org

Mr. McGraw’s biography

Mr. Carrier’s biography

ICC website

News Brief: The Costs of Counterfeiting

Published on February 4, 2011

A new ICC report predicts the cost of intellectual property rights abuses worldwide will reach $1.7 trillion by 2015 and put 2.5 million legitimate jobs at risk each year.  Launched at the 6th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, which took place in Paris in early February, the ICC report updates a groundbreaking 2008 OECD study that showed more than $250 billion in counterfeit and pirated goods move through international trade alone.  The revealing ICC study not only brings the estimates up to date but also examines additional impacts not quantified in the OECD report.  These include the value of domestically produced and consumed counterfeit products, the value of digital piracy, and the negative impacts on society, governments and consumers.

Staff contact: Caitlin Martin

More on ICC’s BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy) initiative

Business Hails Progress at UN Climate Talks

Published on December 13, 2010
Nick Campbell, chair of ICC’s climate change task force, co-chairing a briefing in Cancun alongside Patricia Espinosa, the COP16 president and Mexican minister of foreign affairs.
Nick Campbell, chair of ICC’s climate change task force, co-chairing a briefing in Cancun alongside Patricia Espinosa, the COP16 president and Mexican minister of foreign affairs.

New York, N.Y. and Cancun, Mexico, December 13, 2010 – The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has welcomed the agreement reached in Cancun during the United Nations climate change conference as a solid step forward towards the development of a robust post-2012 framework agreement, according to its American affiliate, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).

“We are pleased with the outcome, and happy to have had the opportunity to work closely with so many of our partners in the business community in the U.S. and around the world,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson, who attended the Cancun conference.  “This provides an excellent platform for business to contribute to climate solutions going forward.”

USCIB collaborated with ICC members from around the world to present coordinated business views to UN delegates and others participating in Cancun.  In addition, working with a variety of groups in the Business Major Economies Forum (BizMEF), USCIB helped coordinate talks among major industry groups from the G20 and other leading nations and presented views on the trade impacts of possible global action on climate change.

“The Cancun agreement provides a strong signal that governments have heard the private sector’s call for clarity and a framework to tackle climate change,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “I congratulate the Mexican government for its actions throughout the year, particularly Minister of Foreign Affairs Patricia Espinosa for her tireless efforts to foster global cooperation on climate change. The extended standing ovation she received on the last night of negotiations was richly deserved.”

The agreement contains many elements where closer cooperation with the private sector will be needed, including the elaboration of the technology mechanism, financing arrangements such as the “Green Fund” and the development of guidelines for measuring, reporting and verification. ICC also welcomes the decision to strengthen market-based approaches that are so critical to broad cost-effective action for mitigation and adaptation.

As the business and industry focal point for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process, ICC played a leading role throughout the two week conference in Cancun, demonstrating the vital role of business as a source for technological innovation and dissemination, as well as for investments that will enable cleaner energy and development choices in the context of a return to sustained economic growth.  This culminated in the Cancun Global Business Day, where the need for more effective engagement and involvement of business was the key theme.

Looking ahead to an intense year of further climate policy deliberations in 2011, USCIB will continue to work with other business groups in BizMEF, and focus on defining synergies between trade and climate policy at the multilateral level.  In preparation for the next UN climate conference in Durban, ICC will urge governments throughout 2011 to develop recognized, flexible channels to bring business expertise and engagement to the deliberations.

About ICC
The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its thousands of member companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.  A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2000 experts drawn from ICC’s member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.  The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC.  For more information please visit www.iccwbo.org.

About USCIB
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

Contacts:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Alba Rooney, ICC
Tel: +33 1 49.53.28.22 or alba.rooney@iccwbo.org

ICC website