(alphabetic lookup)
EAR Regulations: Export Administration Regulations (or “EAR” regulations) are overseen by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. They govern products which are considered potentially “dual-use.” In other words, products that may have both civilian and military applications. Any civilian products with potential military applications, like off-road vehicles, may be considered as “dual use” items by the US Government.
Electronic Export Information (EEI): Formerly known as a Shipper’s Export Declaration, this document is used to control exports, and acts as a source document for official U.S. export statistics. EEI is required for all shipments their value, as classified under any single Schedule B or Harmonized Code number, is more than $2,500. EEI must also be submitted for all shipments requiring an export license or destined for countries restricted by the Export Administration Regulations, regardless of value.
Embargo: Partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country.
ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival): The projected date and time a shipment scheduled to arrive at its destination.
ETD (Estimated Time of Departure): The projected date and time a shipment scheduled to depart.
EXIM Bank (Export-Import Bank of the United States): This institution is the official export credit agency of the Federal Government. Operating as a wholly owned government corporation, the Bank "assists in financing and facilitating U.S. exports of goods and services" It also offers both export financing and export credit insurance.
Export Control Classification Number (ECCN): These are five-character alpha-numeric designations used on the Commerce Control List (CCL) to identify dual-use (military/civilian) items for export control purposes. An ECCN categorizes items based on the type of product, including software or technology, and its respective technical parameters.
Export Credit Insurance: Export credit insurance is a product offered by private insurance companies and by governmental organizations (like EXIM Bank) to companies wishing to protect their foreign accounts receivable from loss due to default, insolvency or bankruptcy. It can include a component of political risk insurance, which covers such things as currency issues, political unrest, expropriation, etc.
Export License: This is a government-issued document that authorizes the export of specific items (including technology), in specific quantities, to specific destinations. It may be required for all exports to some countries, or just for specific items going to other countries.
Export Management Company (EMC): A company that performs the functions that would be typically performed in-house by the export department or the international sales department of manufacturers and suppliers. EMCs develop personalized services promoting their clients’ products to international buyers and distributors. They solicit and transact business in the names of the producers they represent or in their own name for a commission, salary, or retainer plus commission. EMCs usually specialize either by product or by foreign market. They are often used by companies too small to employ in-house trade experts, or which only export occasionally. Because of their specialization, the best EMCs know their products and the markets they serve very well and usually have well-established networks of foreign distributors already in place. This immediate access to foreign markets is one of the principal reasons for using an EMC, because establishing a productive relationship with a foreign representative can be a slow and costly process.
Export Packing List: A list that itemizes the exported material in each package and indicates the type of package, such as a box, crate, drum, or carton. An export packing list is considerably more detailed and informative than a standard domestic packing list. It also shows the individual net, tare, and gross weights and measurements for each package (in both U.S. and metric systems).
Export Processing Zone (EPZ): A site in a foreign country established to encourage and facilitate international trade. EPZs include free trade zones, special economic zones, bonded warehouses, free ports, and customs zones. EPZs have evolved from initial assembly and simple processing activities to include high-tech and science parks, finance zones, logistics centers, and even tourist resorts.
Export Quotas: These are specific restrictions or ceilings imposed by an exporting country on the value or volume of certain exports designed, for example, to protect domestic producers and consumers from temporary shortages of the goods affected or to bolster their prices in world markets. Just as an example, the US imposes quotas on imported sugar.
Export Subsidies: Government payments or other financially quantifiable benefits provided to domestic producers or exporters contingent on the export of their goods and services.
Export Trading Company (ETC): These are companies which act as independent distributors, creating transactions by linking domestic producers and foreign buyers. As opposed to representing a given manufacturer in a foreign market, the ETC determines what U.S. products are desired in a given market and then works with U.S. producers to satisfy the demand. ETCs can perform a sourcing function, searching for U.S. suppliers to fill specific foreign requests for U.S. products.
EXW (Ex Works): This Incoterm indicates that a seller fulfills his obligation when he makes the goods available to the buyer at his own premises or at another named place of delivery. The buyer bears all costs and risks involved in taking the goods to overseas delivery. EXW is used for any mode of transportation.
These links updated: 4/23/18. This website has been funded in part by the U.S. Commercial Service. Copyright (c) All Rights Reserved by the District Export Council of Georgia. Image: shutterstock_1069133606.