This dictionary breaks down the terms that actually appear on quotations, contracts, and shipping documents so buyers aren't guessing at meaning mid-negotiation.
This dictionary breaks down the terms that actually appear on quotations, contracts, and shipping documents so buyers aren't...
This dictionary breaks down the terms that actually appear on quotations, contracts, and shipping documents so buyers aren't...
On the "The International Trade Dictionary" page, keep the source inputs, assumptions, sensitivity and follow-up questions visible...
In the "In practice" section of The International Trade Dictionary, keep the source inputs, assumptions, sensitivity and follow-up...
Search the dictionary for plain-language explanations of sourcing, payment and shipping terms. Use the entries to understand a quotation or document and identify the details that need clarification.
This dictionary breaks down the terms that actually appear on quotations, contracts, and shipping documents so buyers aren't guessing at meaning mid-negotiation.
Use The International Trade Dictionary as the topic: each level depends on the record discipline established before it. Complete the beginner controls before relying on the advanced ones.
Use the tool to expose missing information. A beginner should understand every field, unit, assumption, and output before using the result. Use The International Trade Dictionary as the decision record for this level.
Build a reproducible decision record. A practitioner can normalize inputs, test sensitivity, attach evidence, and explain why one option passed. Reconcile that evidence inside the The International Trade Dictionary workflow.
Govern the model and its exceptions. An expert controls formula versions, data quality, override authority, threshold calibration, retention, and review when operating conditions change. Apply those governance rules to the The International Trade Dictionary decision.
This dictionary breaks down the terms that actually appear on quotations, contracts, and shipping documents so buyers aren't guessing at meaning mid-negotiation. Keep the owner, open questions, and buyer approval visible as work moves forward. Evaluate this decision on one commercial basis: specification, quantity, currency, Incoterm, validity period, MOQ, tooling, packaging, payment terms, lead time, and exclusions. Keep confirmed amounts separate from estimates and require written buyer approval before accepting a price or payment commitment.
FOB, CIF, DDP, and related terms are defined in plain language, tied to who is responsible. Keep the owner, open questions, and buyer approval visible as work moves forward. Leave the next owner a clear handoff, including open questions and delays.
Terms found on bills of lading, customs declarations, and inspection reports are explained so documents stop feeling like a foreign language. Keep the owner, open questions, and buyer approval visible as work moves forward. Before customs and shipping vocabulary is approved, reconcile the packing list, commercial documents, carton marks, cargo dimensions, value, Incoterm place, route, insurance, and delivery contact. Record what each logistics quote excludes so a low freight line is not mistaken for the full delivered cost.
Type to filter the full dictionary live — matches term names and definitions. Practical explanations for buying decisions, not legal texts.
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The transport document for air freight — the carrier's receipt and contract of carriage. Unlike an ocean bill of lading, it is not a document of title.
The largest English-language B2B marketplace for Chinese suppliers. Listings are marketing, not verification — see Alibaba vs 1688 vs a Sourcing Agent.
An extra import duty a country charges on specific foreign goods judged to be sold below fair value. Can multiply the cost of affected product categories overnight.
The statistical sampling standard used in inspections: it defines how many samples are checked from a lot and how many defects are tolerable before the lot fails. The standard is explained in depth in AQL Standards Explained.
In a letter of credit, the bank (usually in the seller's country) that authenticates the credit and notifies the seller it exists.
An online platform where businesses buy from businesses — Alibaba, 1688, Global Sources, Made-in-China. A supplier discovery channel, not a verification layer.
The key ocean-freight document: the carrier's receipt for the cargo, the contract of carriage, and — as a negotiable document — often the title to the goods themselves. Whoever holds the original B/L controls the cargo.
A customs-controlled warehouse where imported goods can be stored with duties deferred until they are released into the market.
China's largest trade fair, held in Guangzhou each spring and autumn. See the China Trade Fairs Guide.
Insurance covering loss or damage to goods in transit. No common Incoterm except CIF and CIP obliges anyone to buy it — decide, or the gap is yours.
The volume unit of freight. Your shipment's CBM drives LCL pricing and determines what container it needs.
The manufacturer's declaration that a product meets applicable EU health, safety, and environmental rules. Required for covered product groups before EU sale — see the CE Marking Guide.
A document certifying where goods were manufactured. It can change your duty rate under trade agreements — ask for it before shipment.
Incoterm: the seller pays freight to the destination port, but risk passes to the buyer when goods are loaded on board. CIF is CFR plus insurance.
Incoterm: seller pays freight and minimum insurance to the destination port; risk still passes at loading. Compare in FOB vs CIF vs DDP.
The multimodal cousin of CIF: seller pays carriage and insurance to the named place; risk passes at handover to the first carrier. Requires higher insurance cover than CIF under Incoterms 2020.
The seller's bill stating what was sold and its declared value — the basis for customs duty assessment. See how to read one.
Combining cargo from multiple suppliers or shippers into one shipment — Yiwu and multi-supplier orders live on it. See freight consolidation.
A licensed professional who files import declarations and clears goods through customs on the importer's behalf. The paperwork is theirs; the liability stays yours.
The official process of declaring goods, paying duties and taxes, and obtaining release so a shipment can enter a country. See customs clearance & documentation.
The tax charged by the destination country on imported goods, normally a percentage of declared value set by the product's HS code.
Incoterm: seller delivers ready for unloading at the named destination; buyer unloads and clears import. See the DAP guide.
The maximum-obligation Incoterm: seller delivers to the named place with import duties paid. Real DDP requires the seller to act as importer in your country — many "DDP" offers from China are not that. See the fake-DDP warning.
Charges that accrue when a container stays at the port or terminal beyond its free days — one of the classic surprise costs of slow customs clearance.
The standard China order structure: a deposit (commonly around 30%) before production and the balance before or after shipment. See payment methods explained.
Incoterm: like DAP, but the seller also unloads — the only term that obliges the seller to unload.
A retail model where the seller never holds stock: each customer order ships directly from the supplier. Simple to start; quality control and shipping times are the hard parts.
Importing goods to re-export them to a third country, often after storage or repackaging — the trade model of hub ports like Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
A payment held by a neutral third party and released to the seller when agreed conditions are met — a protection layer for smaller online transactions.
Estimated Time of Departure / Arrival — the schedule bookends of a shipment. Treat both as estimates and plan buffers.
The filing that notifies the origin country's customs that goods are leaving. In China trade it is handled by a party with Chinese export rights.
The minimum-obligation Incoterm: the seller makes goods available at their own premises; the buyer handles everything else — including, awkwardly, export clearance. See the EXW guide.
An on-site assessment of a factory's existence, capacity, quality systems, and working conditions before you commit orders. See supplier verification & factory audits.
Incoterm for bulk/non-containerized sea cargo: seller delivers goods alongside the vessel; buyer handles loading and everything after.
Amazon's fulfillment program with strict carton, labeling, and routing rules for inbound shipments. See FBA shipping requirements.
Incoterm: seller delivers export-cleared goods to the carrier or place the buyer names; works for every transport mode. The ICC's recommendation for containers — see the FCA guide.
A container booked exclusively for one shipper's cargo. Compare with LCL in LCL vs FCL.
The workhorse Incoterm of China trade: seller clears export and loads the vessel; risk passes to the buyer on board at the named port. See FOB vs CIF vs DDP.
A contract clause excusing performance when extraordinary events — disasters, wars, port closures — make it impossible. Read what your supplier's version actually covers.
The logistics company that books and manages transport, consolidation, and freight documents on your behalf. Compare their offers properly: how to compare freight quotes.
The approved reference sample both sides sign off before production — the physical standard the goods must match and inspections judge against.
The weight of goods including all packaging — the number freight and some duty calculations use. Net weight excludes packaging.
A product-classification code based on the international Harmonized System. It is one input to a national tariff lookup; origin, valuation and current trade measures can also affect the duty treatment. See the World Customs Organization overview and the HS Codes Guide.
The legal party responsible for an import: the declaration, the duties, the compliance. Usually you — even when agents do the paperwork. See Import vs Export.
The ICC's standardized trade terms (EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP…) defining who pays for and risks each leg of a shipment. Start with the Incoterms guide.
The international quality management system standard. A certified factory has audited processes — which is meaningful, and still not the same as your product being good.
The true total cost of goods in your warehouse: product + freight + insurance + duties + taxes + fees. The only price that matters — compute yours with the Landed Cost Calculator.
Sharing container space with other shippers — flexible for small volumes, with consolidation time and handling risk as the price. See LCL vs FCL.
The time from order confirmation to goods ready (production lead time) or delivered (total lead time). Quotes usually state the first; your planning needs the second.
A bank-issued payment commitment that pays the seller against documents matching the credit's exact terms. See the Letter of Credit guide.
The party that actually produces goods, owning lines and processes — as opposed to a trading company reselling them. Learn to tell them apart: Factory vs Trading Company.
The custom production equipment made for your product's shape. Tooling costs are paid up front, and who owns the mold decides who controls your product's future. Full guide: Tooling & Molds Explained.
The smallest quantity a supplier will produce or sell per order — set by production efficiency, not stubbornness, and sometimes negotiable. See Understanding MOQ.
The weight of the goods alone, excluding packaging. Appears with gross weight on every packing list.
An EU-designated organization that assesses conformity of higher-risk products for CE marking. Its four-digit number appears beside the CE mark — verify it in the NANDO database.
A factory that designs and makes products which buyers rebrand as their own — you get speed, they keep the design. See OEM vs ODM vs Private Label.
A factory manufacturing to your design and specification — maximum control, higher MOQs, and your IP on the line.
Payment terms where goods ship before payment is due (e.g., net 30/60) — great for buyers, rare from Chinese suppliers without long history or credit insurance.
The document describing how a shipment is physically packed: cartons, quantities, weights, dimensions. Customs and your warehouse both read it — it must match reality.
A quality check of finished goods before they ship — the last moment problems are cheap to fix. See the Pre-Shipment Inspection Guide.
Selling a manufacturer's product under your own brand. Convenient — and in markets like the EU it can make you the legal manufacturer. See the Private Label Sourcing Guide.
The supplier's formal pre-order quotation-invoice stating goods, prices, quantities, and terms. Paying its deposit is the point of commercial commitment.
The buyer's formal order document: specifications, quantity, price, terms, and dates. The written record disputes are settled against.
The system of checks — samples, in-production checks, inspections — keeping production aligned with your specification. The full method lives in Quality Control & Compliance.
A supplier's offer: price, MOQ, lead time, and terms. Quotes with different Incoterms are not comparable until aligned — see how to compare supplier quotations.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership — the trade agreement spanning China, ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, with preferential tariffs for qualifying origin goods. Full guide: RCEP Explained.
A re-export is an imported good shipped onward to a third country (the engine of entrepot hubs like Dubai and Singapore); a re-import is a country’s own good coming back home. Both distort bilateral trade statistics — and explain why two countries’ trade figures never quite match.
China's currency (renminbi; yuan is the unit). Domestic suppliers and markets often price in RMB; exports are typically invoiced in USD.
The EU restriction on hazardous substances (lead, mercury, certain phthalates and more) in electrical and electronic equipment.
The pre-production or production specimen you approve before committing. How to request and judge them: samples guide.
Ocean transport — the cheapest way to move volume and the slowest. The decision framework is in Sea vs Air Freight.
The identification printed on export cartons — consignee, order, carton number, destination — so your cargo survives a crowded warehouse.
A unique identifier for each distinct product variant you sell. Every color and size is its own SKU — and its own MOQ conversation.
A China-side partner who finds, verifies, and coordinates suppliers on the buyer's behalf. What they do and don't: What Is a Sourcing Agent.
The full network turning raw materials into delivered products — and you are its orchestrator. See Global Supply Chains.
An international bank wire — the payment method behind most China orders, usually structured as deposit and balance. See payment methods.
A duty imposed on imported goods, set by the destination country per HS code — and shifted by trade agreements and trade disputes. See tariffs & trade agreements.
The design data, risk assessments, and test evidence behind a CE-marked product's Declaration of Conformity. Own-brand importers must be able to produce it.
An independent company checking your goods against your specification — independence is the point. See third-party QC labs.
Alibaba's built-in order protection: pay through the platform and dispute within its terms. Useful for smaller orders; read what it actually covers.
A supplier that owns no production — it buys from factories and resells, adding convenience and a margin. See Factory vs Trading Company.
Cargo changing vessels at an intermediate port en route. Normal in ocean freight; each transfer adds time and a little handling risk.
The UK's post-Brexit conformity mark for Great Britain — the CE mark's British counterpart, with CE still accepted in defined cases. Verify current UK rules before shipping.
A letter of credit paying at a set period after document presentation (30–90+ days), giving the buyer financing room. Contrast with an at-sight L/C, which pays within days.
The consumption tax most destination countries charge on imports, on top of duty — typically calculated on goods value plus freight plus duty.
China's refund of domestic VAT to exporters on many goods — part of why export pricing works the way it does, and one reason "who exports" matters under EXW.
A billing weight calculated from package volume. Air and express carriers charge the higher of actual and volumetric weight — light, bulky goods pay for their size.
A generic product produced for many brands to sell under their own names — private label's faster, less exclusive sibling.
The world's largest small-commodity wholesale market, in Zhejiang Province. Five districts, tens of thousands of booths — decoded in the Yiwu Market Guide.
On the "The International Trade Dictionary" page, keep the source inputs, assumptions, sensitivity and follow-up questions visible beside the calculated result.
Replace placeholder numbers with supplier, cargo, quality, timing, and destination data.
Identify which assumption changes the result most and where better evidence is needed.
Save the inputs and date so a revised quote can be compared on the same basis.
When a term turns into a real decision, these are the guides behind the words.
The foundation guide behind half this dictionary.
Read the guide 06Every three-letter term from EXW to DDP, in one overview.
Read the guide 07Calculators for landed cost, tariffs, AQL sampling, and more.
Use the tools 08All fourteen categories of the trade library in one map.
Browse the libraryHow to use it, and what it is — and isn't.
It gives importers plain-language definitions of the terms used across international trade — sourcing, Incoterms, freight, customs, payments, quality control, and manufacturing — in one searchable page, with links to deeper LifaSourcing.com guides where they exist.
Use the search box at the top of the dictionary: it filters the full list live as you type, matching both term names and definition text. You can also browse alphabetically.
No — they are practical, plain-language explanations written for buying decisions. For contracts and compliance, always confirm the precise legal meaning in the relevant rules, such as the ICC Incoterms 2020 text or your destination market's customs law.
Yes. The dictionary grows with the Knowledge Center. If a term you need is missing, message Simon at simon@lifasourcing.com and it will be considered for the next update.
In the "In practice" section of The International Trade Dictionary, keep the source inputs, assumptions, sensitivity and follow-up questions visible beside the calculated result.
Replace placeholder numbers with supplier, cargo, quality, timing, and destination data.
Identify which assumption changes the result most and where better evidence is needed.
Save the inputs and date so a revised quote can be compared on the same basis.
Definitions are the start. These put the most-used terms into working context.
This sequence turns The International Trade Dictionary into a reviewable sourcing record. Adapt the depth to the product, order, market, and risk while keeping the decision trail intact.
State the choice, responsible owner, deadline, alternatives, and what result would change the action. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Record each value, unit, currency, date, version, source, confidence, and whether it is estimated or confirmed. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Convert units and commercial bases so options describe the same quantity, scope, quality, timing, and responsibility. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Follow the field definitions and keep missing inputs visible instead of replacing them with silent defaults. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Change the uncertain inputs that could reverse the result and identify the break point rather than trusting one output. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Save the selected option, rejected alternatives, assumptions, evidence, approver, date, and next review trigger. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Update the record when quotes, quantities, defects, duties, lead times, or responsibilities change. Apply this step to The International Trade Dictionary: retain the input and approval that make it reviewable.
Use this The International Trade Dictionary table as a working rule. It does not replace current legal, customs, testing, financial, or technical advice for the exact transaction.
| Route | Use it when | Minimum evidence | Stop condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checklist | The main risk is an omitted input, document, or approval step. | Owner, status, evidence link, due date, exception rule. | Checked boxes are accepted without reviewing the evidence. |
| Calculator | Several numeric inputs must be normalized or tested together. | Units, currency, date, formula basis, assumptions, sensitivity. | An estimate is treated as an invoice, tariff ruling, or guaranteed outcome. |
| Decision tree or scorecard | Options must be screened against repeatable conditions or weighted criteria. | Criteria definitions, weights, thresholds, evidence, override authority. | Scores hide a failed mandatory requirement. |
Use The International Trade Dictionary to frame the matched case decision without adding claims or outcomes beyond its source classification.
Capacity tests showed 6.0 Ah packs delivering only 3.2-3.8 Ah; packs ran hot under load (surface 61°C), creating a fire-safety risk; supplier refused to acknowledge.
Escalate The International Trade Dictionary: act when the decision affects safety, legal market access, protected IP, high-value tooling, restricted goods, unusual payment instructions, disputed identity, or a dependency that could stop the business.
Set the The International Trade Dictionary threshold before the event: defect severity, cost variance, delay, capacity load, document conflict, compliance gap, payment change, or repeated corrective-action failure.
Escalate The International Trade Dictionary: bring in the relevant laboratory, engineer, customs broker, lawyer, accountant, insurer, or market authority when credentials or current jurisdiction-specific interpretation are required.
Keep the The International Trade Dictionary evidence: source documents, versions, correspondence, approvals, exceptions, corrective actions, and review dates for the period required by the buyer's market, contract, and internal policy.
This The International Trade Dictionary tutorial was reviewed on 2026-09-02. Standards, tariffs, customs procedures, platform rules, product requirements, and enforcement practice can change. Confirm the current rule for the exact product, configuration, origin, destination, importer, sales channel, and claim before relying on it.
Primary reference: WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility
For The International Trade Dictionary, enter the actual order's specification, quantity, destination, quotation basis and current costs in the relevant calculator or comparison tool. Record assumptions and unresolved inputs before approval.
The WTO glossary explains multilateral trade terminology and states that its definitions are illustrative rather than legal interpretations. ICC publishes and maintains the Incoterms rules.
Sources checked: 30 August 2026. Recheck the current rule, edition and destination requirements before acting.
