Methods of foreign trade

I’d like to start by saying that foreign trade is anfutures
exchange of goods and services  between variousAuction is a method of selling publicly, letting intending
countries. In this context let me tell U that foreignbuyers gether and compete with each other by
trade in Russia may successfully be carried on directmaking bids.
between Russian enterprises and foreign firms andThe goods like fur, tea, spices whose quality varies
indirect through middlemen:from year to year, from lot to lot cannot be
Direct sales.accurately graded and are sold at auctions according
The most common means of doing businessto sample.
nowadays is through straight sales of foreign goodsTender is a written offer by a supplier to supply
in exchange for foreign currency or commodities,certain goods and services at a started price, usually
which were produced in our country (countertrade).in competition with other tenders. Trade by tenders
Countertrade is a term, which denotes variousis often used in developing countries for construction
methods of linking two export operations. Inwork or for delivery of goods.
countertrade transaction the Seller agrees to take fullFair is a special place where producers can advertise
or partial payment in goods.their new goods, attract more customers and
Frame work Agreementconclude profitable contracts.
Normally it is advisable to conclude the frameworkForeign economic restructuring has effected the
agreement within which the individual countertradedevelopment of foreign trade, the banking system
transactions shall operate. But sometimes in aand the role of Russian enterprises in the economy.
contract it is usually to build theThe main point of the foreign trade reform are:
1. The clear definition of the mutual obligation of the- enterprises now have a right to conduct
parties.international trade;
2. Specification of the countertraded goods and- industrial enterprises are allowed to maintain hard
condition of setting the value on FOB and CIF basis.currency bank accounts;
3. Restrictions of the market where the goods may- great emphasis is made on export and import world
be sold/marketing technique;
4. The arrangements for settlement account and- inward investment by means of joint ventures is
evidence account and for the payment of the creditencouraged.
balance of terminations of the agreement in cash.One of the most serious problems facing Russian
5. The conditions of participating of the factor in aeconomy is not convertibility of the ruble, which is a
countertrade process.serious handicap in relations within trade
6. Penalty provision for non-performance of thecounter-parts. The economic reform sets a task to
countertrade obligations by the exporter.make ruble convertible.
7. A choice of law clause and arbitration clause.A joint venture can be created between any number
Sometimes the framework agreement takes a formof foreign and Russian enterprises. A joint venture
of a letter of intent, which is undesirable because ahas limited liability. It should be self-supporting and
letter of intent is not enforceable in law.self-financing. J/V offer foreign investors direct
Countertrade covers barter, counterpurchase,access to the Russian market.
buyback, reciprocal sales.The main features of interest to the Russian
A barter deal involves an exchange of goods to anparticipant are:
equal value.1. To satisfy the requirements for the domestic
Counterpurchase refers to short and medium-termmarket,
transactions. The western Seller commits himself to2. To attract foreign technology and foreign
purchase an agreed value of the Buyers products tomanagement experience
help finance the original sale.If the parties want to form a partnership a Protocol
Buyback refers to long-term contracts and isof Intent is normally signed. A J/V becomes a juridical
connected with the development projects supportedperson after it has been registered with the Ministry
with huge credits. Buyback involves two phases, oneof Finance. The foundation documents and the
for the delivery of equipment to the Buyer and aFeasibility Study are the most important documents
second for the delivery of the end product to thefor the application procedure. The foundational
Seller.documents include the Agreement between the
Reciprocal sales or counter deliveries. These are twopartners on the establishment of a J/V and the
contracts; the export contract and the countersale.Charter or Statute of J/V. The feasibility study
Then there is the so-called commercial triangularcovers the objective of a company, the working
form, which involves a third party in this or that way.capital, the product to be manufactured, and the
It is rather complicated and varies from country totechnical back-up of a project.
country, from deal to deal.A J/V must be managed by a Board of Directors.
Companies prefer doing their business abroad throughThe Board is governing body which sets out the
intermediaries: agents & distributors.strategy of a company.
It necessary to distinguish clearly between the AgentThe authorized fund is formed from initial
& the Distributor. The essential difference is thatcontributions made by the Parties and may be
whereas the commercial Agent is engaged in thesupplemented from the profits of J/V.
negotiation with customers about the contract forA J/V is a legal person. It may sue and may be sued.
the sale of goods on behalf of a principal & forAfter deductions have been made to the funds the
his account for which the Agent reserves &rest profit is divided between the partners in
agreed commission. The Distributor operates on hisproportion to the share of the   authorized fund
own account as an independent purchaser for sale ofbelonging to the individual participant.
the Supplier's products, getting his remuneration fromThere are some other methods of international trade
whatever profit he may make out of these sales.such as tolling, consignation, leasing, and futures.
The relations between the Distributor & the- Tolling is a kind of commercial deal based on the
Supplier are determined by a distributorshipexchange of raw materials for finished goods being
agreement, stating that the Supplier grants to theproduced from these raw materials. Both parties in a
Distributor the sole & the exclusive right todeal benefit from tolling.
purchase from the Supplier certain specified goods- Consignation is a method of trade by providing the
for sale in a given territory.goods by the exporter to be sold by the importer.
Agency agreement is usually concluded for terms ofThe exporter still retains and the owner of the
3 or 5 years, while distributorship agreement is signedgoods. The importer does not own the goods but is
for longer periods, after which the matter can beresponsible for its safety.
reviewed with & intention of prolonging its- Leasing is one of the forms of credit of durable
effect.exports(cars, equipment, machinery).It is based on
Indirect sales is supplying goods through middlementhe lease of equipment with the future buyout by a
agencies, distributors, JV, through signing licensinghigher price which includes leasing payments and a
agreements. And a part of it can be carried on atcost of equipment. The seller is interested in selling of
auctions, commodity exchanges, fairs, by tenders.the equipment, but the buyer does not have any
Also, you can buy & sell commodities atcapital to buy.
commodity exchanges, auctions & by tenders.- Futures are trade in future contracts to buy and sell
Commodity exchanges are centers in commoditystandardized class of commodity at a started price at
markets where all dealings either in actuals or insome fixed time in the future (commodity exchange.