Following a period of worldwide financial stress, the appearance of this fourth edition of ICC Guide to Export-Import (formerly called Export-Import Basics) is particularly timely. International trade, which has consistently been one of the primary engines of increasing global prosperity for decades, slowed in some nations and even declined in others. The challenges of economic turbulence, however, underscored the importance of professional knowledge in the field of international trade. In this economic environment, when export earnings and import efficiency are so important to a nation’s economy, it is vital that traders have the tools enabling them to more effectively do their jobs.

For individuals and for companies large and small wishing to profit from global trade, exporting and importing can be an intimidating process. While risk is a factor in all business transactions, international trade involves additional risks - transport risks, legal risks, risks of non–payment, of receiving poor quality goods and of exchange rate fluctuations. ICC Guide to Export-Import provides basic guidance for beginning traders as well as a detailed, informed overview of international trade practice that can benefit sophisticated traders wishing to improve the way they sell and receive goods from abroad.

This widely acclaimed book has helped a generation of exporters and importers learn the tools of their trade. This, the fourth edition, has been completely updated with an extended analysis of new rules, such as Incoterms® 2010, ICC’s internationally recognized trade terms, and with chapters on customs and intellectual property, included here for the first time.

At the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which was established almost a century ago to fight for freer trade, we have a keen appreciation of the content found in these pages and the lucidity with which it is presented. Whether by the creation of contractual rules - such as Incoterms and the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP) - or by advocating the cause of more open trade before governments and international organizations, ICC has fulfilled that mission consistently through the years. The publication of this fourth edition of ICC Guide to Export-Import is yet another of the practical tools for trade that ICC provides to the world business community.

February 2012