Mastering Imports And Export Management

The last two years have seen drastic changes in the import/export arena, due to a combination of world developments, economic changes, and technological advances. Mastering Import and Export Management is a definitive resource for keeping up to date with the latest laws, regulations, and opportunities in international trade. This invaluable, authoritative volume offers complete, timely, and practical hands-on information on:

International Commercial Disputes in English Courts

This is the third edition of a book formerly published by Lloyds of London Press under the title International Commercial Disputes. It is concerned with how commercial disputes which have connections with more than one country are dealt with by the English courts. Much of the law which provides the framework for the resolution of such disputes is derived from international instruments, as a consequence of which English law is very similar to or the same as the law of other countries in Europe and beyond.

Incoterms 2000 Handbook

EXW, FCA, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, DAF, DES, DEQ, DDU, & DDP. Incoterms are the official rules for the worldwide interpretation of trade terms developed under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, France. Incoterms are recognized by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law as the global standard for such interpretation.

Incoterms define the responsibilities of buyer and seller for delivery of goods under sales contracts. They are the authoritative text for determining how costs and risks are allocated to the parties. These terms are regularly incorporated into sales contracts worldwide and have become part of the daily language of trade.

Incoterms 2000, the first revision in ten years, contains the official ICC text of the thirteen trading terms. It takes into account the latest developments in commercial practice and modifies some the existing terms bringing them into line for use in the new millennium. Most sales

A Basic Guide To Importing

Compiled by the United States Customs Service, this book is an essential source of information for anyone importing goods--commercial or personal property--into the United States. Topics covered in depth include:

1. How the customs service works at ports of entry

2. The entry process--and how to guarantee that your goals will pass entry examination

3. How to prepare error-free invoices

4. How to calculate duty payable and qualify for refunds of duty

5. How transaction values are assessed and how currency conversion works

6. Regulations on marking imported goods

7. Understanding prohibitions, import restrictions, and quotas

8. Laws governing civil and criminal fraud

In addition, an extensive appendix provides sample customs forms, certificates, and invoices, along with relevant excerpts from statutes governing importing into the United States. Complete, up-to-date, and easy to use, this book provides all the information needed to import efficiently and profitably into the United States.

Manual on Modernization of Inland Water Transport for Integration within a Multimodal Transport System

Multimodal transport is defined as the carriage of goods by two or more modes of transport. The integration of Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) into the multimodal transport system is in the initial stage in most countries of the ESCAP region. This Manual details country by country experiences with multimodal IWT, compares it with experiences in Europe and the United States and provides guidelines for its modernization in the region.

Export / Import: Procedures And Documentation

In the ever-changing world of complex international rules, laws, regulations, and customs, even seasoned export/import professionals may find themselves in unfamiliar situations.

Export/Import Procedures and Documentation puts reliable solutions to problems like wrong documents and procedural misunderstandings right at readers' fingertips. This comprehensive answer book supplies ready-to-use forms and provides a clear view of the entire export/import process. This new edition has been thoroughly revised to include:

* New Shipper's Export Declaration forms and instructions

* U.S. Customs Service "Reasonable Care" checklists

* New Automated Export System (AES) procedures and documentation

* Updated Customs Audit Questionnaires.

Also featured are 37 updated forms as well as 12 all-new forms, a section on e-commerce in international marketing, Websites for 94 export and import agencies and information sources, and listings for export and import software.

The Art of Islamic Banking And Finance

A detailed look at the fast-growing field of Islamic banking and finance.

The Art of Islamic Banking and Finance is a modern American take on what it means to incorporate Islamic finance principles into everyday banking and investment techniques by introducing a new brand of banking for all people of all faiths: The Riba-Free (RF) banking.

The author is considered the father of RF (Islamic) banking in America. He has been a banker and an Imam/scholar for over 40 years in America since 1968. He started the tedious process with a finance company, LARIBA, in Pasadena, California in 1987. This is the first book ever in the field to trace the origins of prohibiting the renting of money at a price called interest rate and over-indulging in debt. The book reviews in great details the theological foundations of prohibiting interest in the Jewish Bible, the Christian Bible, and the Al-Qur'an. The author then discusses money and how fiat money is created, the role of the Federal Reserve, and the banking system in America. The book also discusses for the first time ever how to include an important aspect of RF (Islamic) finance using commodity indexation and marking the items to be financed to market in order to avoid participating in economic "bubbles." The author discusses how these rules work, how they affect consumer behavior, and how they change the role of the banker/financier.

• Covers a new pioneering model that is based on the Law (Shari'aa) and how it is applied in every transaction from joint ventures and portfolio management to home mortgages and personal financing
• Shows how to incorporate the Law (Shari'aa) into American financing and banking systems
• Points to RF (Islamic) finance and banking as a way to emphasize socially responsible investing

The Art of Islamic Banking and Finance also includes a discussion on the emergence of a culture of RF (Islamic) banking and finance today, which is based on the real Judeo-Christian-Islamic spirit and very effective when compared to twentieth-century models that use financial engineering and structuring techniques to circumvent the Law (Shari'aa). The book also includes case studies based on the actual experience of the author and detailed analysis of the superior results realized by applying this new brand of banking to financing.

Islamic Finance In Global Economy

A good political economy account of Islamic finance. Its general viewpoint is well-informed but sensibly critical; this is rare in writings on this topic. It contains a wide range of material in one place in a way that is probably unique. In spite of the ever growing importance of Islamic finance products, quantity, rather than quality, has been the main feature of literature on the topic.

Ibrahim Wardes book is in this respect a welcome exception, indeed he begins his book with the observation that the majority of texts on Islamic finance tend to be abstract, and avoid rigorous scientific and sociological methodology ! Warde unquestionably succeeds in his book in providing an excellent overview of modern Islamic finance. It will be particularly useful to readers who are interested in the complexity and variety of Islamic finance as it is now, as well as in possible future developments. The book's greatest drawback: in view of the breathtaking pace of change in Islamic finance at the moment, it could become quickly obsolete.

One should therefore read it quickly. The author provides a profound analysis of the connection between Islamic finance and politics ~ Seif I. Tag El-Din a well-researched and concise book on a fluid, complex, and sometimes misjudged concept. A forthright and scholarly survey of a subject that deserves the attention of both international bankers and area specialists who are interested in Islamic culture of political economy ... It offers a much-needed introduction to a highly complex set of economic, cultural, and political phenomena.

Bank Guarantee In International Trade

This book is a comprehensive study of the legal and practical aspects and implications of independent (first demand) guarantees and standby letters of credit. It serves to broaden the understanding of the law on the subject of bank guarantees, while placing marked emphasis upon the practical issues which can arise in the daily functioning of these legal instruments.

The American standby letter of credit and the European independent guarantee developed simultaneously and represent, conceptually and legally, the same device. However, developments throughout the 1980s and 1990s and into the new century particularly certain initiatives of the International Chamber of Commerce ((URDG) and the American Institute of International Banking Law and Practice (ISP98), along with a steady flow of case law and a proliferation of legal writing continue to affect practice in the field.

The writer examines all this material in detail in this incomparable book, now in an updated revised third edition. He uses case law and legal writing from five European countries; The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, and England to build an analysis of how the practical applications of bank guarantees has established a pattern of law. He also takes into account U.S. writing and case law on the subject, as well as relevant cases from Switzerland, Italy, and Austria.

Written from a transnational perspective, Bank Guarantees in International Trade can be used in both Civil Law and Common Law jurisdictions. His analysis covers the following factors:

1. Ttypes of guarantee (tender, performance, maintenance, repayment, retention, judicial)
2. Ppayment mechanisms (first demand, third-party documents, arbitral or court decision)
3. Risks and negotiations, drafting and clauses
4. Bank guarantees as a financial service; direct and indirect guarantees
5. Relationship between account party and bank
6. Relationship between instructing bank and issuing bank, counter-guarantee
7. The call on the guarantee, demand for payment
8. Fraud and restraining orders
9. Furisdiction and applicable law

Bank Guarantees in International Trade offers practitioners in international trade and banking law the most complete analysis in the field. In its wealth of practical detail, it is unlikely to be surpassed.

Standby letters of Credit: A Comprehensive Guide

This authoritative reference book gives thorough, practical guidance for anyone who needs to deal with standby letters of credit either professionally or academically. 

Augmented with examples of numerous real-life cases, the book addresses the exact procedures undertaken by global banks in handling letters of credit transactions whilst incisively providing an article by article interpretation of the ISP98.

Furthermore, the book explains the credit operation cycle, the various parties to the credit transaction, types, uses -with special emphasis on tender and performance standby letters of credit– roles, responsibilities of the parties to the transaction, risk management and fraud prevention. 

The book literally provides all the tools needed to deal not only with routine problems but also with unforeseen difficulties whether at clerical, middle management or senior management level. 

Commercial/Financial fraud detection and prevention is an issue that is decisively addressed in Chapter 15 which tackles the types of fraud the bank frequently encounters whilst conducting its trade finance operations.

The Author quotes several examples of fraudulent transactions and pinpoints the operational gaps the fraudsters often use to penetrate the bank’s safeguards and execute their crimes. 

The Author also tackles “organized crime” in banking operations whilst precisely explaining the techniques the banks must follow and safeguards they must place in order to detect and prevent these destructive fraud crimes. Risk Management in trade finance operations is another major concern of the international banking community. 

This concern is comprehensively addressed in Chapter 14 which warns that the methods commonly used by banks to effectively manage risks vary from one country to another according to the specificities of the socio-political environment; methods of trade finance risk mitigation described in general texts could turn to be invariably useless and any attempt to apply abstract theories and academic discussion can be not only a value destroyer but also a dangerous process.

The chapter then proceeds to emphasize the importance of understanding the bank’s specific operational environment and base its risk management approach on the operational history of the bank and its working environment.

It continues by identifying the exact risks the bank faces in a standby letter of credit transaction and finally, the Chapter tackles the three approaches banks follow in managing their operational trade finance risks, namely “Operational Risks Correlated to Volume”, “Value at Risk Analysis (VAR)” and “The Distribution of Loss Measure".