- n.a. - Information not available. Net absolutely
- n.a.a. - Not always afloat
- N.A.S.D.I.M. - National Association of Securities Dealers
and Investment Managers
- N.A.T.O. - Noth Atlantic Treaty Organization
- N.C.A.R. - No claim for accident reported
- N.C.V. - No commercial value
- n.d.w. - Net dead weight
- n.e. - Not exceeding
- N.E.D.C. - National Economic Development Council
- n.e.p. - Not elsewhere provided
- n.e.s. - Not elsewhere specified
- N.H.P. - Nominal horse-power
- N.K.K. - Nippon Kaiji Kyokai
- N.K.O.R.L. - No known or reported loss
- N.M.A. - (Lloyd's) Underwriters Non-Marine Association
- N.O.C. - Notice of cancellation
- n.o.p. - Not otherwise provided
- n.p. - Net proceeds
- n.r. - No risk, net register
- n.r.a.d. - No risk after discharge
- n.s.p.f. - Not specifically provided for
- N.V. - Norske Veritas
- N.V.O.C.C. - Non vessel operating common carrier
- N/a - No advice, No account, Not applicable
- N/C - New charter, New crop
- N/f - No funds
- N/m - No mark
- N/N - Not north of
- N/o - No orders (banking)
- n/s - Not sufficient
- NAC - National Advisory Council on International Monetary
and, Financial Policies
- Nacional Financiera - NAFIN promotes growth in Mexico's
priority development areas. NAFIN provides financial assistance
to small and medium-sized Mexican businesses, encourages foreign
investment in Mexico, and supports technological development in
Mexico. NAFIN headquarters are in Mexico City, Mexico.
- NADBank - North American Development Bank
- NAFIN - Nacional Financiera
- NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement
- NAL - National Agricultural Library
- NAM - Non-Aligned Movement
- NAP - Amsterdam Ordnance Datum
- NASDA - National Association of State Departments of
Agriculture, National Association of State Development Agencies
- NAT - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial
Policies - The NAC is responsbile for coordinating U.S. participation
in the international financial institutions and the policies and
practices of agencies of the U.S. government that make, or participate
in making, foreign loans or that engage in foreign financial,
exchange, or monetary transactions. With regard to international
financial institutions, the Council seeks to ensure that their
operations are conducted in a manner consistent with U.S. policies
and objectives and with lending and other foriegn financial activities
of U.S. government agencies. The Council formulates and reviews
policies and programs for use by the U.S. representatives to these
institutions and advises the Secretary of the Treasury on:- Policies
and selected proposed transactions of the institutions; - Proposed
actions by these institutions requiring U.S. approval on such
subjects as the flotation of securities, increases in quotas and
subscriptions, and changes in their articles of agreement; and
- Problems relating to the administration and management of the
international finnancial institutions. NAC membership includes:
the Departments of the Treasury (as chair), State, and Commerce,
the U.S. Trade Representative, the Federal Reserve System, the
Export-Import Bank, and the International Development Cooperation
Agency.
- National Agricultural Library - In its international
role, the NAL cooperates in database production, compilation of
world lists of journals, publication exchange, cooperative indexing,
and intern training. The NAL serves as the U.S. center for the
international agricultural information system. The NAL's AGRICOLA
database covers all aspects of agriculture via bibliographic records
to documents, including international agricultural trade topics
such as policy, research, flows of commodities, environmental,
taxation, and sociological impacts. AGRICOLA is produced soley
by the NAL. The NAL's Agricultural Trade and Marketing Information
Center (ATMIC) disseminates information on agribusiness, countertrade
(barter), exports, and trade development. The NAL is located in
Beltsville, Maryland. See: Agriculture Information System.
- National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
- NASDA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of the 50 state
departments of agriculture and those from the trust territories
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
Headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
- National Association of State Development Agencies -
The National Association of State Development Agencies, NASDA,
was formed in 1946 to provide a forum for directors of state economic
development agencies to exchange information, compare programs,
and deal with issues of mutual interest. NASDA's organization
includes International Trade and Foreign Investment components.
Trade activities include maintenance of a State Export Program
Database.
- National Defense Executive Reserve - The NDER Program,
which is operated by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Export
Administration, recruits and trains experienced business executives
and other qualified civilians to serve in key government positions
during periods of emergency. These reservists would augment Department
of Commerce staff as required to respond to national security
emergencies.
- National Intelligence Council - The NIC is comprised
of the U.S. National Intelligence Officers and concentrates on
problems of particular geographic regions and functional areas
such as economics and chemical/biological warfare.
- National Security Controls - National security controls
restrict exports of U.S. goods and technology which would make
a significant contribution to the military potential of another
country and thus be detrimental to Western countries' national
security.
- National Security Council - The NSC was established by
the National Security Act of 1947 to advise the President with
respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military
policies relating to national security.
- National Security Directives - NSDs provide policy or
procedural guidance and are signed by the President. In 1989,
the President reorganized the national security council committee
process (separate from the EARB). As reorganized, under the NSC,
there are committees for CoCom, terrorism, nonproliferation, etc.
NSDs were known as National Security Decision Directives, NSDDs,
before President Bush's reorganization. NSD-1 reorganized the
process; NSD-10 established the committees. The scope of coverage
and the players are about the same under the NSD and NSDD processes.
- National Security Override - In some cases, despite a
finding of foreign availability of a controlled commodity, control
is maintained over exporting the commodity because it is deemed
a national security sensitive item. The term national security
override is used to describe this circumstance. The term has also
been used in other contexts. For example, under a November 16,
1990 directive, the President tasked the interagency control groups
to move as many dual use items from the State Department's International
Munitions List to the Commerce Department's Commerce Control List.
In some circumstances, a national security override is applied
to prevent transfer of a particular item.
- National Tourism Policy Act - Legislation, passed in
1981, that created the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration
and required the establishment of the Tourism Policy Council and
the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.
- National Trade Estimates Report - An annual report by
USTR that identifies significant foreign barriers to and distortions
of trade.
- National Treatment - National treatment affords individuals
and firms of foreign countries the same competitive opportunities,
including market access, as are available to domestic parties.
- Natural Resource Based Products - This GATT Negotiating
Group was formed as a direct result of pressure from resource-rich
LDCs to have an additional forum to deal with their special concerns,
including the removal of barriers to trade in natural resource-based
products. There are different interpretations among participants
as to whether this group includes only three traditional product
areas examined during the early 1980s GATT Work Program on NRBPs:
non-ferrous metals and minerals; fish and fish products; and wood
and wood products, or whether the Group may also discuss barriers
in non-traditional product areas such as energy-based products.
- NBA - Niger Basin Authority
- NDAA - National Defense Authorization Act
- NDER - National Defense Executive Reserve
- Negotiating Group - Within the Uruguay Round, a negotiating
group is a forum in which contracting parties plan and manage
the multilateral negotiations dealing with a particular issue.
In the Uruguay Round, there are two major groups, the Group of
Negotiations on Goods (GNG) and the Group on Negotiations of Services
(GNS). Within the GNG, there are 14 issue-oriented subgroups.
- NEP - New Economic Program
- Net Foreign Investment - Net foreign investment is the
sum of U.S. exports of goods and services, receipts of factor
income, and capital grants received by the United States (net),
less the sum of imports of goods and services by the United States,
payments of factor income, and transfer payments to foreigners
(net). It may also be viewed as the acquisition of foreign assets
by U.S. residents, less the acquisition of U.S. assets by foreign
residents. It includes the BPA statistical discrepancy.
- net weight - Weight of the goods only which does not
include their packing.
- New-To-Export - As defined by the International Trade
Administration, a new-to-export action is one that results from
documented assistance to a company that assists the client's first
verifiable export sale. Either the company has not exported to
any destination during the past 24 months or prior exports have
resulted from unsolicited orders or were received through a U.S.-based
intermediary.
- New-To-Market - As defined by the International Trade
Administration, a reportable new-to-market export action is one
that results from documented assistance to an exporter that facilitates
a verifiable sale in a new foreign market. Either the company
has not exported to that market during the past 24 months or previous
exports to that market have resulted from unsolicited orders or
were received through a U.S. based intermediary.
- Newly Independent States - The NIS is a collective reference
to 12 republics of the former Soviet Union: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
(formerly Byelorussia), Moldova (formerly Moldavia), Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan,
and Kirgizstan (formerly Kirghiziya) and Georgia. Following dissolution
of the Soviet Union, the distinction between the NIS and the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) was that Georgia was not a member
of the CIS. That distinction dissolved when Georgia joined the
CIS in November 1993.
- Newly Industrializing Countries - The term, originated
by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
describes nations of the Third World that have enjoyed rapid economic
growth and can be described as "middle-income" countries (such
as Singapore and the Republic of Korea).
- Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) - A group of developing
countries which have reached a relatively advanced stage of economic
growth and have experienced high growth rates in recent years.
Some of the NICs are Brazil, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Singapore,
and Taiwan .
- Newly Industrializing Economies - NIE's is a term generally
applied to the more advanced developing countries in East Asia.
The reference includes Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan;
occasionally its use encompasses other countries as well, such
as Indonesia and Thailand.
- NG - Non-Governmental Organization
- NIA - Nearest international airport
- NIB - Nordic Investment Bank
- NIC - National Intelligence Council
- NICs - Newly Industrializing Countries
- NIE - Newly Industrialized Economy
- NIEs - Newly Industrializing Economies
- Niger Basin Authority - The NBA (French: Autorite du
Bassin du Neiger) fosters coordinated development of the Niger
Basin area. The Authority regulates navigation, publishes statistics
and hydrological forecasts, promotes environmental control and
agricultural and infrastructure development. NBA's predecessor
organization was established in 1964; headquarters are in Niamey,
Niger. NBA members include: Benin, Burkina Faso, the Cameroon,
Chad, C“te d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.
- Nigeria Trust Fund - The NTF grants loans on preferential
terms to finance projects in Nigeria in cooperation with other
lending institutions. The Fund, which is administered by the African
Development Bank, was established in February 1976.
- NIPA - National Income and Product Accounts
- Nippon Kaiji Kyokai - Japanese ship classification society.
- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation - NTT is Japan's
largest telecommunications enterprise and was converted from a
public corporation to a private enterprise in April 1985. Although
competition has been allowed, the Japanese Government still owns
the majority of NTT stock and postponement of a decision in NTT
divestiture is an issue of considerable importance to market access
by foreign companies. NTT was established in 1952.
- NIS - Newly Independent States
- NMEs - Nonmarket Economies
- NNPA - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act
- NNPT - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- nom. std. - Nominal standard
- Non-Aligned Movement - The NAM is an alliance of third
world states which aims to promote the political and economic
interests of developing countries. The name orignated in a declaration
of neutrality issued at the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries
in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in September 1961. NAM interests have
included ending colonialism/neo-colonialism, supporting the integrity
of independent countries and seeking a new international economic
order.
- Non-Governmental Organization - The term "NGO" is generally
applied to private sector nonprofit organizations that contribute
to development in developing countries through such activities
as development cooperation projects, financial aid, material aid,
the dispatch of personnel, the acceptance of trainees, and development
education. In this context, NGOs are accredited by the United
Nations or its specialized agencies and can lobby and do business
with them.
- Non-Market Economy (NME) - An economy where commercial
activity is centrally planned. While the GATT has some NME members,
it is difficult to enforce the rules since the GATT system is
based on market principles.
- Non-Tariff Barriers - NTBs are market access barriers
that result from prohibitions, restrictions, conditions or specific
requirements and make exporting products difficult and/or costly.
The term covers any restriction or quota, charge, or policy, other
than traditional customs duties, domestic support programs, discriminatory
labeling and health standards, and exclusive business practices
which limit the access of imported goods. NTBs may result from
government or private sector actions.
- Non-Tariff Measures - While there is no specific definition
of an NTM, some of the most commonly-used NTMs include import
quotas or other quantitative restrictions, non-automatic import
licensing, customs surcharges or other fees and charges, customs
procedures, export subsidies, unreasonable standards or standards-setting
procedures, government procurement restrictions, inadequate intellectual
property protection, and investment restrictions. Participants
in the Tokyo Round attempted to address these barriers through
the negotiations of a number of GATT codes, open for signature
to all GATT members. Seven codes were negotiated during the Tokyo
Round, covering customs valuations, import licensing, subsidies
and countervailing duties, antidumping duties, standards, government
procurement, and trade in civil aircraft.- Although the Tokyo
Round codes had alleviated some of the problems caused by non-tariff
measures, overall use of NTMs has increased since conclusion of
the Tokyo Round.
- non.d. - Non delivery
- NonVessel Owning Carrier - An NVOC is a firm which consolidates
and disperses international containers that originate at, or are
bound for, inland ports.
- NORAD - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
- Nordic Council - The Nordic Council, established in 1952,
is directed toward supporting cooperation among Nordic countries
in communications, cultural, economics, environmental,, fiscal,
legal, and social areas. Members include: Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway, and Sweden. Council headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Nordic Investment Bank - The NIB, which began operating
in December 1975, promotes economic cooperation and development
by providing resources and guarantees for exports and for capital
investment projects. Bank members include: Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway, and Sweden. Bank headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland.
- North American Development Bank - The NADBank, to be
capitalized and governed by the United States and Mexico, is intended
to provide financing related to the North American Free Trade
Agreement. The NADBank will finance projects certified by the
Border Environment Cooperation Commission and support for community
adjustment and investment. Up to 10 percent of NADBank resources
may be made available for community adjustment and investment
which need not be in the border region. See: Border Environment
Cooperation Commission.
- North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA, which entered
into force in January 1994, is a free trade agreement comprising
Canada, the United States and Mexico. NAFTA exceeds 360 million
consumers and a combined output of $6 trillion --approximately
20 percent larger than the European Community. NAFTA's consumer
population is slightly smaller than the European Economic Area
which has over 380 million consumers. The Agreement: - Progressively
eliminates almost all U.S.-Mexico tariffs over a 10-year period,
with a small number of tariffs for trade-sensitive industries
phased out over a 15-year period. Mexico-Canada tariffs are also
phased out over a 10-year period. Tariff reduction schedules between
the United States and Canada negotiated in the Canadian Free Trade
Agreement are retained. - Eliminates other barriers to trade such
as import licensing requirements and Customs user fees. - Establishes
the principle of national treatment, for ensuring that NAFTA-origin
products trade between NAFTA countries will receive treatment
equal to similar domestic products. - Guarantees service providers
of the three countries equal treatment in the NAFTA area, including
the right to invest and the right to sell services across borders.
- Establishes five basic principles to protect foreign investors
and their investment int he free trade area: (a) nondiscriminatory
treatment, (b) freedom from performance requirements, (c) free
transference of funds related to an investment, (d) expropriation
only in conformity with international law, and (e) the right to
seek international arbitration f or a violation of the agreement's
protections. The Agreement contains special provisions for sensitive
economic sectors, including agriculture, automotive products,
energy, and textiles and apparel. The Agreement also created a
Border Environment Cooperation Commission and a North American
Development Bank. See: Border Environment Cooperation Commission
North American Development Bank Performance Requirements.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO members include
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France (which has only partial membership),
Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and Germany. With
the end of the "cold war," NATO's role, originally defense-oriented
is being redefined.
- Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - NORAD
provides financing of project exports from Norway to developing
countries for development undertakings which contribute to development
and which can be sustained without future external assistance.
About 50 percent of Norwegian assistance is bilateral aid; the
balance is channelled as multialteral aid through UN specialized
agencies and financial institutions, including regional development
banks. NORAD bilaterial aid includes provisions for Norwegian
private industrial sector participation as suppliers of capital
equipment and services and technology. A portion of assistance
may involve concessional financing for Norwegian project exports,
including mixed credits, export credit guarantees, support for
training in connection with project exports, and tied co-financing
on grant basis with the World Bank, the African Development Bank,
and the Asian Development Bank. NORAD assistance is subject the
OECD's Development Assistance Committee guidelines for development
assistance and associated financing. NORAD was established in
1968; headquarters are in Oslo, Norway.
- notify party - Group, whose name and address appear in
a bill of lading, who is to be notified by the shipping company
of the arrival of goods at the discharge port. There is normally
a box on the bill of lading where the details of the notify party
are inserted.
- NPIS - New Product Information Service
- NPT - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- NPV - Net present value
- NRPB - Natural Resource Based Products
- nrt - Net registered tonnage
- NS - National Security Override
- NSC - National Security Council
- NSD - National Security Directive
- NSG - Nuclear Suppliers Group
- NTBs - Non-Tariff Barriers
- NTDB - National Trade Data Bank
- NTE - National Trade Estimates Report, New-To-Export
- NTF - Nigeria Trust Fund
- NTM - New-To-Market
- NTMs - Non-Tariff Measures
- NTT - Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
- Nuclear Energy Agency - The NEA, with headquarters in
Paris, is a companion organization to the IEA and an element of
OECD. NEA promotes the safe and effective use of nuclear energy
through the exchange of information among technical experts, the
sharing of analytical studies, and undertaking joint research
and development projects by member countries.
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act - Among other actions,
this Act (passed in 1974) made the U.S. Energy Department responsible
for approving arrangements for nuclear exports and transfers.
Each arrangement requires State Department concurrence, as well
as consultations with the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency,
the NRC, and the Departments of Defense and Commerce.
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - The NPT became effective
in 1970 and was intended to limit the number of states with nuclear
weapons to five: the U.S., the Soviet Union, Britain, France,
and China. In doing so, the NPT attempts to: (a) prevent nuclear
weapons sales by not assisting other nations with nuclear weapons
development; (b) halt the nuclear weapons development programs
of non-nuclear weapons states; and (c) promote nuclear disarmament
and the peaceful use of nuclear technologies and materials. Over
140 states have pledged not to acquire nuclear weapons and to
accept the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency
over all their nuclear materials. - The treaty, however, is
not of indefinite duration. One of the provisions of the treaty
was to convene a conference 25 years after entry into force to
decide whether the treaty would continue indefinitely or be extended
for a specified time.
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission - The NRC regulates the
transfer of nuclear facilities, materials and parts with uniquely
nuclear applications (such as items associated with nuclear reactors).
Energy regulates the transfer of information relating to nuclear
technology. The State Department controls defense articles and
services, such as nuclear weapons design and test equipment. Commerce
controls a range of dual-use items with potential nuclear application.
- License applications for the export of NRL items are reviewed
by Energy and may be referred to an interagency working group
known as the "Subgroup on Nuclear Export Coordination" (SNEC).
The - SNEC comprises representatives from State, Defense, Commerce,
the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA), and the NRC.
See: International Atomic Energy Agency Nuclear Suppliers Group
Zangger Committee.
- Nuclear Suppliers Group - The NSG is an organization
of nuclear supplier nations, which coordinates exports of nuclear
materials and equipment with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) inspectorate regime. The reason for creating the NSG was
to allow member states some flexibility (which they do not enjoy
in the Zangger Committee) in controlling items to non-nuclear
weapons states. The NSG's independence from the NPT enables NSG
to enlist the cooperation of supplier states that are not signatories
to the NPT and thus not involved in the nuclear export control
activities of the Zangger Committee. The NSG's control list is
more comprehensive than the Zangger Committee's "trigger list";
it requires the imposition of safeguards on exports of nuclear
technology in addition to nuclear materials and equipment. The
NSG developed a multilateral list for national adoption of export
controls on dual-use commodities with a nuclear application.
- NVO-MTO - Non-vessel-operating multimodal transport operator
- NVOC - NonVessel Owning Carrier
- NVOCC - Non-vessel-operating common carrier
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