ICC officially releases Incoterms revisions

ICC officially releases Incoterms revisions    The International Chamber of Commerce on Thursday officially unveiled the long-awaited revisions to its international commercial terms, better known as Incoterms.
   Incoterms are standard trade definitions most commonly used in international sales contracts. The rules are devised and published by the ICC, which has copyrighted the term, and are generally revised every decade to better align with evolving trade practices.
   'Before ICC developed the Incoterms rules, the different terms were often subject to varying interpretations in different countries, often giving rise to disputes and litigation,' said ICC Chairman Rajat Gupta. 'Today the Incoterms rules for the usage of terms such as Ex Works (EXW), Free on Board (FOB), Cost and Freight (CFR) and Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) are part of the recognized canon defining the responsibilities of buyers and sellers in transactions for the sale of goods worldwide.'

Gupta

   Incoterms 2010, as the revised list is known, includes a number of changes, the most notable is the number of terms has been reduced from 13 to 11. The DAF, DES, DEQ, and DDU designations have been eliminated, while two new terms — Delivered at Terminal (DAT) and Delivered at Place (DAP) — have been added.
   They attempt to better take into account the role cargo security and electronic data interchange now play in international trade. A panel of eight ICC delegates went through four rounds of revisions since 2007 to produce the updated terms.
   The U.S. Council for International Business, the U.S. representative body in the ICC, will hold seminars through the fall and winter to better acquaint buyers and sellers of goods with the revisions.
   Visit www.iccincoterms2010.org to purchase a copy of the revised Incoterms and for a full list of seminar dates and locations.
   The new terms go into effect Jan. 1. ' Eric Johnson