- Balance of Payments - The balance of payments is a statistical
summary of international transactions. These transactions are
defined as the transfer of ownership of something that has an
economic value measurable in monetary terms from residents of
one country to residents of
- Balance on - " - Current account; - Goods, services,
and income; - Investment income; - Merchandise trade; - Services;
- Unilateral transfers See: Balance of Payments."
- Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economico - See:
Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
- Banco Interamericano de Desarollo - See: Inter-American
Development Bank.
- Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones - BLADEX (English:
Latin American Export Bank) is a multinational bank which provides
short- (95%+) and medium-term financing. Operations are conducted
in U.S. dollars. Borrowers are primarily Latin American commercial
banks of member countries which fi
- Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior - "BANCOMEXT, Mexico's
national foreign trade bank, provides credits, guarantees, and
promotion services to support Mexico's foreign trade. BANCOMEXT
also assists Mexican importers by providing short-term loans to
support importation of selected commodities "
- Bank Advisory Committee - "The Bank Advisory Committee,
which in some respects has replaced the London Club, is not a
structured or formal organization. The Bank Advisory Committee
consists mostly of lead bankers in an individual debtor country.
The lead bankers, representing the "
- Bank Affiliate Export Trading Company - An Export Trading
Company partially or wholly owned by a banking institution as
provided under the U.S. Export Trading Company Act.
- Banker's Acceptance - "A banker's acceptance is a draft
drawn on and accepted by a bank. Depending on the bank's creditworthiness,
the acceptance becomes a financial instrument which can be discounted."
- Banker's Bank - A bank that is established by mutual
consent by independent and unaffiliated banks to provide a clearinghouse
for financial transactions.
- Banker's Draft - Draft payable on demand and drawn by
or on behalf of the bank itself; it is regarded as cash and cannot
be returned unpaid.
- Bank for International Settlements - "BIS, established
in 1930, promotes cooperation among central banks in international
financial settlements. Members include: Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irela"
- Bank Guarantee - "An assurance, obtained from a bank
by a foreign purchaser; that the bank will pay an exporter up
to a given amount for goods shipped if the foreign purchaser defaults.
(see: Letter of Credit.)"
- Bank Holding Company - "Any company which directly or
indirectly owns or controls, with power to vote, more than five
percent of voting shares of each of one or more other banks."
- Bank of Central African States - "The bank (French:
Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Central, BEAC) issues a common currency
unit, the Central African Franc. Members include The Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad, People's Republic of Congo, Gabon,
and Equitarial Guinea. France part"
- Banque Arabe pour le Developpement Economique en Afrique
- See: Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.
- Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest - "BECAO,
which operates as a central bank under authority of the West African
Monetary Union, issues the common currency for member states:
Benin, Burkina Faso, C“te d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and
Togo."
- Banque de Developpement des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale
- See: Central African States Development Bank.
- Banque de Developpement des Etats du Grand Lac - See:
Development Bank of the Great Lakes States.
- Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale - See: Bank of
Central African States.
- Banque Fran‡aise du Commerce Exterieur - "BFCE, a government-owned
agency, is the French Government lender for officially supported
export credits at preferential interest rates. The Bank, which
provides financing for international trade, plays a coordinating
role between exporters and the Frenc"
- Banque Quest-Africaine de Developpement - See: West African
Development Bank.
- Barter - Trade in which merchandise is exchanged directly
for other merchandise or services without use of money.
- Basel Convention - "The Basel Convention restricts trade
in hazardous waste, some non-hazardous wastes, solid wastes, and
incinerator ash. It was adopted in 1989 by a United Nations-sponsored
conference of 116 nations in Basel, Switzerland. Twenty nations
must ratify the tr"
- Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union - "BLEU (French: UEBL,
from Union Economique Belgo-Luxembourgeoise), established in July
1921, introduced a system of monetary association between Belgium
and Luxembourg."
- Benelux Economic Union - "Benelux (acronym for Belgium,
Netherlands, and Luxembourg) is an economic union originally established
in January 1948 and revised in January 1960. Benelux continues
as an internal regional association within the European Community
(EC) because the associ"
- Best Information Available - "Under GATT rules, when
a respondent in an antidumping or countervailing duty case either
declines to provide information, or provides inadequate information,
the investigating authority has the right to resort to other information,
a practice known as bes"
- Bilateral Clearing Agreement - A bilateral clearing agreement
is a government-to-government reciprocal trade arrangement whereby
two nations agree to a trade turnover of specified value over
one or more years. The value of the products trade under the agreement
is denominated in accou
- Bilateral Investment Treaty - "A bilateral investment
treaty, BIT, ensures U.S. investments abroad of national or most
favored nation treatment; prohibits the imposition of performance
requirements; and allows the American investor to engage top management
in a foreign country without "
- Bilateral Steel Agreements - "The U.S. negotiated ten
bilateral steel agreements, BSAs, with major steel trading partners.
Under BSAs, the governments agreed to reduce or eliminate state
intervention -- that is, domestic subsidies and market barriers."
- Bill of Lading - "Bills of lading are contracts between
the owner of the goods and the carrier. There are two types. A
straight bill of lading is nonnegotiable. A negotiable or shipper's
order bill of lading can be bought, sold, or traded while goods
are in transit and i"
- Biological Agents - "Several classes of biological agents
have been identified according to their degree of pathogenic hazard,
and are controlled by the United States in accord with provisions
of the Australia Group. Applications submitted to the Department
of Commerce for t"
- Blue Lantern - "Blue Lantern, a procedure pertaining
to U.S. Munitions List items, is intended to verify that information
stated on export license applications is valid and that the use
of the commodity or service exported is consistent with the terms
of the license. It"
- Bonded Exchange - Exchange which cannot be freely converted
into other currencies.
- Bond System - The Bond System, a part of the US Customs'
Automated Commercial System, provides information on bond coverage.
A Customs bond is a contract between a principal, usually an importers,
and a surety which is obtained to insure performance of an obligation
imposed "
- Bonded Warehouses - The Australian Customs Service authorizes
bonded warehouses for storage or manufacture of goods on which
payment of duties is deferred until the goods enter the Customs
Territory. The goods are not subject to duties if reshipped to
foreign points.
- Border Cargo Selectivity - BCS is an automated cargo
selectivity system based on historical and other information.
The system is designed to facilitate cargo processing and to improve
Customs enforcement capabilities by providing targeting information
to border locations. The sys
- Border Environment Cooperation Commission - The BECC
is a U.S.-Mexican binational commission intended to facilitate
border environmental clean-up and to provide additional support
for community adjustment and investment related to the North American
Free Trade Agreement. The BECC will assist borde
- British High Commission - "The term British High Commission
(BHC, or High Commission, HC, or Her Majesty's High Commission,
HMHC) is used in lieu of ""embassy"" in Commonwealth countries."
- British Overseas Trade Board - "The BOTB, located in
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), advises on international
trade and guides the government's export promotion prorgram, including
policy, financing, and overseas projects. The Board is composed
of industry and government re"
- Brussels Tariff Nomenclature - A once widely used international
tariff classification system which preceded the Customs Cooperation
Council Nomenclature (CCCN) and the Harmonized System Nomenclature
(HS). The BTN was changed in name only to the CCCN in 1976 to
avoid confusion with the
- Bulk Cargo - "Bulk cargo is unbound as loaded and carried
aboard ship; it is without mark or count, in a loose unpackaged
form, and has homongeneous characteristics."
- Bundesbank - "The Bundesbank is the German central bank.
The main functions of the Bundesbank are to regulate the money
supply, support the general economic policy of the federal government,
and issue banknotes. It sets the key discount rate, the Lombard
rate, and mi"
- Bundesstelle fur Aussenhandelsinformation - See: Bundesministerium
fur Wirtschaft.
- Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft - "The BMWi (German:
Ministry for Economic Affairs) gathers and distributes market
information and supports semiprivate and private organizations,
such as overseas chambers of commerce. Within the BMWi is the
Federal Office for Foreign Trade (Bundesstelle "
- Bureau of International Expositions - "The Bureau of
International Expositions, BIE, is an international organization
established by the Paris Convention of 1928 to regulate the conduct
and scheduling of international expositions in which foreign nations
are officially invited to participate. "
- Business Council for International Understanding - "The
BCIU is an independent, non-partisan, business association which
was formed at the initiative of President Eisenhower. BCIU operates
the U.S. Ambassadorial and Senior Diplomat Industry Program in
which most U.S. Ambassadors come to BCIU after appoint"
- Business Executive Enforcement Team - "The Business Executive
Enforcement Team, BEET, provides a channel for private sector
executives to discuss export control enforcement matters with
the Bureau of Export Administration."
- Business Facilitation Office - This is usually a booth
with a reference desk with product catalogs manned by the Commercial
Section or a qualified contractor to assist fair visitors or buyers
searching for U.S. products or services at an international trade
fair.
- Business Information Office - The business information
office or center is a post or contract-staffed commercial reference
facility usually at a scheduled international trade exhibition.
- Business Information Service for the Newly Indpendent States
- "BISNIS is a one-stop shop for U.S. firms interested in obtaining
assistance on selling in the markets of the Newly Independent
States of the former Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
T"
- Buy American Restrictions - "BARs were derived from the
Buy American Act (BAA) of March 1933 and amended by the Buy American
Act of 1988. Restrictions may take several forms, including: (a)
straightforward prohibition of public sector bodies from purchasing
goods from foreign suppl"
- Buyback - See: Countertrade.
- B & T cl - Blocking & Trapping clause
- B. or B/- - "Bale, Bag"
- B.B. - "Bill Book, Below Bridges"
- B.B.cl. - Both to blame collision clause
- B.C. - Bristol Channel
- b.d.i. - Both dates inclusive
- B.D.I. - Both days inclusive
- B.D.S. - Broker's daily statement
- B.I.I.B.A. - British Insurance &Investment Brokers' Association
- b.m. - Board measure (timber)
- B.O. - "Buyer's option, Branch Office"
- B.O.T. - Board of Trade
- B.P.B. - Bank Post Bill
- B.R. - Builders' Risks Insurance
- B.R.C. - "Broker Regulatory Committee (Lloyds's), Brokers
Registration Council"
- B.S. - Boiler survey. Balance sheet
- B.S.T. - British Summer Time
- b.t. - Berth terms
- B.T.U. - Bow Thrust Unit(s)
- B.th.U. - British Thermal Unit
- B.V. - Bureau Veritas
- B/Ch - Bristol Channel
- B/D - "Bank Draft, bar draft (grain trade)"
- B/E - "Bill of Exchange, Bill of Entry"
- B/G - Bondage goods
- B/H - "Bill of Health, Bordeaux to Hamburg inclusive"
- B/L - Bill of Landing
- B/O - Brought over
- B/P - Bills payable
- B/R - Bills receivable. Builders' risks. Bordeaux or
Rouen (grain trade)
- B/s - "Bags, Bales"
- B/S - "Bill of Sale, Bill of Store"
- B/St - Bill of sight
- BACAT - Barge aboard catamaran
- Bal. - Balance
- Bar. - Barrel
- bbls - Barrels
- Bd. - Bound, bond
- Bdls - Bundles
- Bds. - Boards (timber)
- Bg. - Bag
- bhp - Brake horsepower
- Bk. - "Back, Backwardation, Book"
- Bkge. - "Breakage, brokerage"
- Bls. - Bales. Barrels
- bp - Between perpendiculars
- Brl. - Barrel
- BTN - Brussels Tariff Nomenclature
- bu - Bushels
- Balance of Payments Consultations - The coordination
between the GATT and the IMF to ensure that trade and payments
implications of trade restrictions imposed for balance of payments
reasons are taken fully into account. GATT Articles XII and XVIII
allow countries to temporarily deviate fro
- bale (capacity) - Total cubic capacity of a ship's hold
available for carrying solid cargo.
- ballast - "A heavy weight, usually sea water, necessary
for the stability and safety of a ship at sea that is not carrying
cargo."
- bar - Sand bank that forms at the mouths of rivers and
that often limits the type of ships that are able to reach up-river
destinations.
- base cargo - Relatively heavy cargo stowed at the bottom
of a hold to provide a ship with stability when at sea or a minimum
quantity of cargo required by a shipping line for calling at a
port for loading.
- berth - A location alongside a quay where a ship loads
or discharges cargo.
- Binding - "GATT Article 11 provides that signatories
may ''bind'' tariff rates by including them in schedules appended
to the GATT. Once a duty is bound, it may not be raised beyond
that bound level without compensating affected parties."
- bill of lading - "A document issued by a shipowner to
a shipper of goods. It serves as a receipt for the goods, contract
of carriage, and document of title."
- booking - Reservation made by a shipper or his agent
with a carrier to carry certain defined goods between locations.
- Bound Rates - Tariff rates resulting from GATT negotiations
or accession which are appended to the GATT in the form of a 'loose-leaf'
tariff schedule and are enforceable under ARTICLE 11 of GATT.
- bow - Curved forward part of a ship.
- bulk cargo - Unpacked dry cargo such as grain or coal.
- bunkers - A ship's fuel.
- Buy American Act - An act mandating preferential treatment
for American products when awarding some government procurement
contracts. This act is waived for purchases covered by the government
procurement code.
- BADEA - Banque Arabe pour le Developpement Economique
en Afrique
- BAGGAGE - General License - BAGGAGE
- BANCOMEXT - Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior
- BARs - Buy American Restrictions
- BAS - Caribbean/Central America Business Advisory Service
- BCEA - Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest
- BCIE - Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economico
- BCIU - Business Council for International Understanding
- BCS - Border Cargo Selectivity
- BDEAC - Banque de Developpement des Etats de l'Afrique
Centrale
- BDEGL - Banque de Developpement des Etats du Grand Lac
- BEAC - Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale
- BEEC - Border Environment Cooperation Commission
- BEET - Business Executive Enforcement Team
- BENELUX - "Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Economic
Union"
- BfAi - Bundesstelle fur Aussenhandelsinformation
- BFC - Business Facilitation Center
- BFCE - Banque Francaise du Commerce Exterieur
- BHC - "Bank Holding Company, British High Commission"
- BIA - Best Information Available
- BID - Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
- BIE - Bureau of International Expositions
- BI - Business Information Office
- BIS - Bank for International Settlements
- BISNIS - "Business Information Service for the Newly
Independent, States"
- BIT(s) - Bilateral Investment Treaty(ies)
- B/L - Bill of Lading
- BLADEX - Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones
- BLEU - Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
- BMWi - Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft
- BOAD - Banque Ouest-Africaine de Developpement
- BOP - Balance of Payments
- BOT - Balance of Trade
- BOTB - British Overseas Trade Board
- BRITE - Basic Research in Industrial Technologies in
Europe
- BSA - Bilateral Steel Agreement
- BSP - Business Sponsored or Between Show Promotion
- BTN - Brussels Tariff Nomenclature
- BXA - Bureau of Export Administration
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