- o.a. - Over all
- O.A.L. - Overall length
- O.B.O. - Oil/bulk/ore carrier
- O.C.I.M.F. - Oil companies International Marine Forum
- O.E.C.D. - Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development
- O.G.P.I - Original fross premium income (reinsurance)
- O.M.C.A.S. - Outstanding marine claims advisory settlements
- O.N.P.I. - Original net premium income (reinsurance)
- O.N.R. - Original net rate
- O.P. - Open (or floating) policy
- O.P.E.C. - Organisation of PetroleumExporting Countries
- O.R. - Owner's risk, Original rate
- O.S.D. - Open shelter deck
- o/a - On account of
- O/b - On board
- o/b - On or before
- O/C - Open charter. Open cover. Old charter. Old crop
- o/c - Overcharge
- o/d - On demand
- O/D - Overdeck
- O/o - Order of
- O/R - Overrideing commission
- O/S - On sample, Out of stock, On sale or return
- O/t - On truck
- OAPEC - Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
- OAS - Organization of American States
- OATUU - Organization of African Trade Union Unity
- OAU - Organization of African Unity
- OBL - Ocean Bill of Lading
- obo - Oil/bulk/ore carrier
- OBR - Overseas Business Report
- OBU - Offshore Banking Unit
- OC - Operating Committee
- Oc.B/L - Ocean bill of landing
- Occ. - Occurrence
- Ocean Bill of Lading - A receipt for the cargo and
a contract for transportation between a shipper and the ocean
carrier. It may also be used as an instrument of ownership which
can be bought, sold, or traded while the goods are in transit.
To be used in this manner, it must be a negotiable "Order" Bill-of-Lading.-
A Clean Bill-of-Lading is issued when the shipment is received
in good order. If damaged or a shortage is noted, a clean bill-of-lading
will not be issued.- An On Board Bill-of-Lading certifies that
the cargo has been placed aboard the named vessel and is signed
by the master of the vessel or his representative. On letter
of credit transactions, an On Board Bill-of-Lading is usually
necessary for the shipper to obtain payment from the bank. When
all Bills-of-Lading are processed a ship's manifest is prepared
by the steamship line. This summarizes all cargo aboard the
vessel by port of loading and discharge. - An Inland Bill-of-Lading
(a waybill on rail or the "pro forma" bill-of-lading in trucking)
is used to document the transportation of the goods between
the port and the point of origin or destination. It should contain
information such as marks, numbers, steamship line, and similar
information to match with a dock receipt.
- Ocean Freight Differential - OFD is the amount by which
the cost of the ocean freight bill for the portion of commodities
required to be carried on U.S. flag vessels exceeds the cost
of carrying the same amount on foreign flag vessels. When applied
to agricultural commodities shipped under Food for Peace, OFD
is the amount paid by the Commodity Credit Corporation.
- Ocean Freight Forwarder - See: Freight Forwarder.
- ODA - Official Development Assistance
- ODS - Operating Differential Subsidy
- OEA - Organizacion de los Estados Americanos
- OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- OECF - Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund
- OECS - Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
- OEL - Office of Export Licensing
- OEM - Original Equipment Manufacture
- OFAC - Office of Foreign Assets Control
- OFD - Ocean Freight Differential
- Offene Handelsgesellschaft - OHG (German, meaning:
"general partnership") is characterized by the unlimited and
direct liability of all partners who are jointly and severally
liable. Their liability cannot be restricted. The partnership
must carry the family name of at least one partner with reference
to the kind of partnership (such as "& Co.").
- Office of International Cooperation and Development
- The Department of Agriculture's OICD is responsible for cooperative
international research, scientific and technical exchanges,
and liaison with internaitonal agricultural organizations. OICD
also directs training and technical assistance in efforts in
approximately 80 development countries.
- Office of Munitions Control - See: Defense Trade Controls.
- Official Development Assistance - Financial flows to
developing countries and multilateral institutions provided
by official agencies of national, state, or local governments.
Each transaction must be:- administered with the promotion of
the economic development and welfare of developing countries
as its main objective; and concessional in character and contain
a grant element of at least 25 percent.
- Offsets - The term offsets is an umbrella label for
a broad range of industrial and commercial compensation practices
required as a condition of purchase in commercial or government-to-government
sales of either military or high-cost civilian hardware. Whether
commercial or military, offsets involve overseas production
that results in the creation or expansion of industrial capacity
in the importer's country. The compensatory forms of offset
include coproduction, licensed production, subcontractor production,
overseas investment, and technology transfer. Coproduction permits
a foreign government or producer to acquire the technical information
to manufacture all or part of a U.S.-origin article. Licensed
production of a U.S.-origin article involves transfer of technical
information under direct commercial arrangements between a U.S.
manufacturer and a foreign government or producer. Subcontractor
production of a U.S.-origin article usually involves a direct
commercial arrangement between the U.S. manufacturer and a foreign
producer but does not necessarily involve license of technical
information. Overseas investment arising from an offset agreement
involves capital contribution toward the establishment or expansion
of a subsidiary or joint venture in a foreign country. Technology
transfer arises from agreement to conduct research and development
abroad, to provide technical assistance to a subsidiary or joint
venture of overseas investment, or to perform other activities
under direct commercial arrangement between a U.S. manufacturer
and a foreign entity. Countries require offsets for a variety
of reasons: to ease (or "offset") the burden of large defense
purchases on their economies, to increase domestic employment,
to obtain desired technology, or to promote targeted industrial
sectors. Governments sometimes impose offset requirements on
foreign exporters, as a condition for approval of major sales
agreements in an effort to either reduce the adverse trade impact
of a major sale or to gain specified industrial benefits for
the importing country. In these circumstances, offset requirements
may be direct or indirect, depending on whether the goods and
services are integral parts of the product. In a direct offset,
a U.S. manufacturer selling a product uses a component that
is made in the purchasing country. In an indirect offset, the
exporter would buy products that are peripheral to the manufacture
of its product. See: Countertrade.
- Offshore Banking Center - See: Offshore Banking Unit.
- Offshore Banking Unit - An OBU is normally a foreign
bank which conducts domestic moneymarket, Eurocurrency, and
foreign exchange settlements. OBUs cannot accept domestic depostis
but their activities are unrestricted by domestic authorities.
OBUs are located in major financial centers (known as offshore
banking centers) with liberal reserve, tax, and capital market
requirements.
- Offshore Dollars - See: Eurodollars.
- Offshore Manufacturing - Offshore manufacturing is
the foreign manufacture of goods by a domestic firm primarily
for import into its home country.
- OHG - Offene Handelsgesellschaft
- OIC - Organization of the Islamic Conference
- OICD - Office of International Cooperation and Development
- oil port - Port whose main or only type of cargo handled
is oil. This port is often characterized with deep water jetties
to accommodate large oil tankers and with storage tanks and
refineries.
- Old-To-Market - As defined by the International Trade
Administration, old-to-market is a term which refers to committed/experienced
larger-scale firms. A significant portion of manufacturing capability
may be foreign sourced. Export sales volume is often in excess
of 15 percent of total sales.
- OMA - Orderly Marketing Agreement
- OMC - Office of Munitions Control
- OMPI - Organisation Mondiale de la Propriete Intellectuelle
- OMVG - Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve
Gambie
- OMVS - Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve
Senegal
- OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
- Open Account - A trade arrangement in which goods are
shipped to a foreign buyer before, and without written guarantee
of, payment. Because this method poses an obvious risk to the
supplier, it is essential that the buyer's integrity be unquestionable.
- Open Insurance Policy - A marine insurance policy that
applies to all shipments made by an exporter over a period of
time rather than to a single shipment.
- open rate - Freight rate negotiated by a shipper with
a shipping line for shipping in excess of a minimum agreed quantity
of cargo on any one ship.
- open side container - Shipping container with side
doors that drop down to give unrestricted access to the sides
of the container for loading or discharging.
- open top container - Shipping container that has an
open top instead of a solid roof to enable cargo, such as timber,
to be loaded from the top. The container is covered by waterproof
sheeting while in transit.
- Operating Committee - The Operating Committee (chaired
by the Commerce Department) is the first step in resolving interagency
disputes over the disposition of license applications for dual-use
items not reviewed by one of the other interagency working groups.
The other working groups include: (a) the Subgroup on Nuclear
Export Coordination (SNEC), chaired by State for applications
involving nuclear concerns; (b) the Missile Technology Export
Control Group (MTEC), chaired by State for applications involving
missile technology concerns; and (c) the "Shield," chaired by
State for applications involving chemical or biological warfare
concerns. These committees review applications and participate
in the dispute resolution. Prior to any escalation to the Advisory
Committee on Export Policy (ACEP), all applications must be
reviewed by one of these working groups. See: Advisory Committee
on Export Policy.
- Operating Differential Subsidy - ODS is a payment which
the U.S. government makes to vessels carrying the American flag
to offset the difference in operating costs between U.S. and
foreign carriers.
- Operation Exodus - Operation Exodus is a U.S. Customs
Service export enforcement program that was developed in 1981
to help stem the flow of the illegal export of U.S.-sourced
arms and technology to the Soviet bloc and other prohibited
destinations.
- OPIC - Overseas Private Investment Corporation
- optional cargo - Cargo that is destined for one of
the ship's discharge ports, where the exact port is not known
when the goods are loaded. The optional cargo is stowed so that
it can be removed at any of the optional ports without disturbing
other cargo.
- Orderly Marketing Agreement - A bilateral agreement
between governments by which one government limits exports to
the other. Similar to a voluntary export restriction agreement
or a voluntary restraint agreement. Used to address injury to
a domestic industry. Contracts negotiated between two or more
governments, in which the exporting nation undertakes to ensure
that international trade in specified "sensitive" products will
not disrupt, threaten, or impair competitive industries or workers
in importing countries.
- Orderly Marketing Agreements (OMA) - Bilateral agreements
limiting imports from one country to another. OMAs are generally
undertaken to avoid imposition of unilateral import restrictions.
- Organisation Mondiale de la Propriete Intellectuelle
- See: World Intellectual Property Organization.
- Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Gambie
- See: Gambia River Basin Development Organization.
- Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Senegal
- See: Organization for the Development of the Senegal River.
- Organizacion de los Estados Americanos - See: Organization
of American States.
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- OECD provides a forum for discussion of common economic and
social issues facing the United States, Canada, Western Europe,
Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. OECD was founded in September
1960 as successor to the Organization for European Economic
Cooperation (OEEC) which had administered European participation
in the Marshall Plan. OECD seeks "to achieve the highest sustainable
economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living
in member countries while maintaining financial stability and
thus contribute to the world economy." Members include: Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Japan, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
the United Kingdom, and the United States. OECD headquarters
are in Paris, France. See: Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially
Supported Export Credits.
- Organization for the Development of the Senegal River
- The Organization (French: Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur
du Fleuve Senegal, OMVS) promotes hydroelectric, irrigation
and navigation use of the Senegal river. The organization was
established in March 1972; headquarters are in Dakar, Senegal.
Members include: Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal.
- Organization of African Trade Union Unity - OATUU is
recognized as the sole representative of African organized labor
by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the International
Labor Organization (ILO). OATUU is formally non-aligned and
independent of all internaitonal trade union organizations,
but maintains relations with trade unions worldwide. OATUU headquarters
are in Accra, Ghana.
- Organization of African Unity - The OAU, founded in
May 1963 with 32 African countries, has since grown beyond 5
members. The Organization aims to further African unity and
solidarity, to coordinate political, economic, cultural, scientific,
and defense policies; and to eliminate colonialism in Africa.
Members include: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic, Chad,
Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethopia,
Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho,
Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome
and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
OAU headquarters are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- Organization of American States - The OAS (Spanish:
Organizacion de los Estados Americanos, OEA), or the Pan American
Union, is a regional organization created in Bogota, Colombia
in April 1948 (entered into force in December 1951) which promotes
Latin American economic and social development. Members include
the United States, Mexico, and most Central American, South
American, and Caribbean nations. Members include: Antigua and
Barbuda, Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia,
Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba (participation
suspended), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Christopher-Nevis, St.
Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and
Tobago, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The U.S.
accredits an Ambassador to the OAS. The OAS secretariat is located
in Washington, D.C. See: Sistema de Informacion al Comercio
Exterior.
- Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
- OAPEC was created in 1968; members include: Algeria, Bahrain,
Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and
the United Arab Emirates. Headquarters are in Cairo, Egypt.
See: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
- Organization of Eastern Caribbean States - OECS was
intended to promote territorial integrity; changing focus includes
the recent founding of an export development agency. The Organization
was established in 1981; headquarters are in St. Lucia. Members
include: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat,
Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and
the Grenadines.
- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - An
association of the world's oil-producing countries, formed in
1960, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The chief purpose
of OPEC is to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members:
Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and
Venezuela. See: Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.
- Organization of the Islamic Conference - The OIC, established
in May 1971, promotes cooperation in cultural, economics, scientific
and social areas among Islamic nations. Headquarters are located
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. About half the ICO members are also
members of the Organization of African Unity. OIC members include:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei, Burkina
Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon,
the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania,
Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey,
Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
- Orientation Visits - See: Trade and Development Agency.
- original bill of lading - Bill of lading that bears
the original signature of the master of a ship or his agent.
- OTM - Old-To-Market
- Overseas Business Reports - These are marketing studies
of America's major trading partners which provide updated export
and economic outlooks, industrial trends, trade regulations,
distribution and sales channels, transportation, and credit
situation in individual countries.
- Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund - The OECF, a Japanese
government development financial institution, provides developing
countries and areas with grants and long-term, low-interest
loans. As a result of difficulty in distinguishing between the
Fund and the Export-Import Bank of Japan, a 1975 reorganization
put OECF in charge of all direct loans to be made as official
development assistance (ODA) with the grant element of 25 percent
of more. The Fund was created in 1961; headquarters are in Tokyo,
Japan. See: Export-Import Bank of Japan Japan International
Cooperation Agency.
- Overseas Private Investment Corporation - OPIC is a
government corporation which assists U.S. private investments
in less developed nations by providing direct loans and loan
guarantees, insuring against a broad range of political risks,
and providng a variety of investor services. The overseas investments
may include distributorships owned by U.S. manufacturers which
are consistent with the economic interests of both the United
States and the developing country involved. OPIC was formed
as a part of the Agency for International Development in 1961
and became an independent agency 10 years later. Telephone:
800-424-6742.
- overstow - To stow an item of cargo on top of another
in a ship.
- OVs - Orientation Visits
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