You must know 13 delivery methods for foreign trade transactions

        1. Factory delivery (EXW)

　　 The term English is "EX Works (... named place)", that is, "Ex Works (... named place)". It refers to the seller's responsibility to deliver the prepared goods to the buyer at its location, namely workshops, factories, warehouses, etc., but it is usually not responsible for loading the goods on the vehicle prepared by the buyer or clearing the goods.

　　The buyer bears all costs and risks of transporting the goods from the seller’s place to the expected destination.

The term 　　 is a trading term with the least responsibility of the seller. If the buyer cannot handle the export procedures of the goods, this method is not suitable.

　　2, cargo delivery carrier (FCA)

　　 The term English is "Free Carrier (... named place)", that is, "goods handed over to the carrier (... designated place)". It means that the seller shall be responsible for the goods handed over by him, and after customs clearance, the goods shall be delivered to the carrier designated by the buyer to take care of them at the designated place.

　　According to business practice, when the seller is required to cooperate with the carrier by signing a contract, the seller can do the same if the buyer bears the risks and expenses.

　　 This term applies to any mode of transportation. It should be noted that the choice of delivery location will have an impact on the obligations of loading and unloading at that location.

　　If the seller delivers the goods at his location, the seller shall be responsible for loading the goods. If the seller delivers the goods at any other location, the seller is not responsible for unloading the goods.

　　3, Free Alongside Ship (FAS)

　　 The term English is "Free Alongside ship (... named port of shipment)" that is "Free Alongside ship (... designated port of shipment)".

　　 It means that the seller delivers the goods to the side of the ship at the designated port of loading or barge. From then on, the buyer shall bear all the costs and risks of the loss or damage of the goods, and the buyer shall go through export customs clearance procedures.

　　 This term applies to sea or inland water transportation.

　　 Note: If the vessel sent by the buyer cannot be docked, the seller shall be responsible for transporting the goods to the side of the ship by barge and still deliver the goods on the side of the ship. The responsibility and cost of shipment shall be borne by the buyer.

　　4, free on board (FOB)

　　 The term English is "Free on Board (... named port of shipment)", that is, "Delivery on board (... designated port of shipment)".

　　It means that the seller delivers the goods after passing the ship’s rail at the designated port of shipment. After the goods have passed the ship’s rail, the buyer shall bear all the costs, risks, loss or damage of the goods, and require the seller to go through customs clearance procedures for the export of the goods.

　　 In other words, the buyer is responsible for dispatching a ship to pick up the goods, and the seller shall load the goods on the vessel designated by the buyer at the port of shipment and within the time limit specified in the contract, and notify the buyer in time.

　　 When the goods are loaded on the designated ship at the port of shipment, the risk is transferred from the seller to the buyer. This term applies to sea or inland water transportation.

　　5, cost plus freight (CFR or C&F)

　　 The term English is "Cost and Freight (named port of shipment)", that is, "Cost and Freight (...designated port of shipment)".

It means that the seller must pay for the expenses and freight required to transport the goods to the designated port of destination. However, after the goods are delivered to the ship’s deck, the risk of the goods, loss or damage, and the additional expenses incurred after an accident occurs, will occur when the goods pass the designated port. After the ship’s rail, the seller will turn to the buyer to pay and require the seller to go through customs clearance procedures for the export of the goods.

　　 means that when the goods are delivered on the ship at the port of shipment, the seller shall pay the cost of transporting the goods to the designated destination port.

　　 But the risk of the goods is transferred when they are delivered on board the port of shipment. This term applies to sea or inland water transportation.

　　6. ​​Cost, insurance and freight (CIF)

　　 The term English is "Cost, Insurance and Freight (...named port of shipment)", that is, "cost, insurance and freight (... designated port of shipment)".

　　 It means that in addition to the seller's obligations as the term "cost and freight", the seller must also apply for marine insurance and pay the insurance premium for the loss or damage of the purchased goods during transportation.

　　 Therefore, in addition to the same obligations as the CFR terminology, the seller also has to handle freight insurance for the buyer and pay the insurance premium. According to general international trade practices, the amount of insurance insured by the seller should be 10% added to the CIF price.

If the buyer and the seller do not agree on specific risks, the seller only needs to obtain the minimum insurance coverage. If the buyer requests war insurance, the seller should add insurance if the insurance premium is borne by the buyer. If it can be done, it must be insured in the contract currency.

　　 This term applies to sea or inland water transportation.

　　7, freight paid to (CPT)

　　 The term English is "Carriage Paid to): tid to (... named place of destination)", that is, "freight paid to (... specified destination)". This term refers to the freight paid by the seller to transport the goods to the designated destination.

　　 The risk of loss or damage to the goods and any additional costs incurred after the goods have been delivered to the carrier shall be borne by the seller from the time the goods have been delivered to the carrier.

　　 In addition, the seller must go through customs clearance procedures for the export of goods. "Carrier" refers to any person who, in a contract of transportation, promises to perform transportation by rail, road, air transportation, sea transportation, inland water transportation or a combination of the above transportation, or to perform transportation by another person.

　　 If the receiving carrier is still used to transport the goods to the agreed destination, the risk will pass when the goods are delivered to the first carrier. This term applies to all modes of transportation, including multimodal transportation.

　　 8. Freight and insurance paid to (CIP)

　　 The term English is "Carriage and Insurance Paid to (... named place of destination)", that is, "Carriage and Insurance Paid to (... named place of destination)".

"It means that in addition to the seller having the same obligations as the CPT term "freight paid to (...designated destination)", the seller must also apply for marine insurance against the risk of loss or damage to the goods that the buyer should bear in transit and pay insurance.

　　 During the period, the seller must pay the freight to transport the goods to the destination, and the buyer bears all risks and additional costs after the seller has delivered the goods. This term applies to any mode of transportation.

　　9, Frontier Delivery (DAF)

　　 The English of this term is "Delivered at Frontier (...named place)", that is, "Delivered at Frontier (...named place)".

It means that the seller undertakes the following obligations to transport the prepared goods to a designated place on the border, and before the customs border of the neighboring country, hand over the unloaded goods that are still on the delivery vehicle to the buyer for disposal and complete the export of the goods. Delivery is completed when customs clearance procedures have not yet been completed.

　　 The term "border" can be used for any border, including the border of the exporting country. Therefore, it is extremely important to accurately define the borders referred to by designated locations and specific delivery points. This term mainly applies to goods transported by rail or road, but can also be used for other modes of transportation.

　　10. Deliver on board at the port of destination (DES)

　　 The English of this term is "Delivered Ex Ship (... named port of destination)", that is, "Delivered Ex Ship (... named port of destination)".

It means that the seller fulfills the following obligations to deliver the prepared goods to the buyer on the ship’s deck at the designated port of destination without going through customs clearance procedures for the import of goods. Therefore, the seller shall bear all costs including the transportation of the goods to the designated port of destination And risk.

　　 If the parties want the seller to bear the risks and costs of unloading, the DEQ term should be used. The DES trade term can only be used when the goods are unloaded on the ship of the destination port by sea or inland water transport or multimodal transport.

　　 This term only applies to sea or inland water transportation.

　　11. Delivery at the port of destination (DEQ)

　　 The English of this term is: "Delivered Ex Quay (Duty Paid)(...named port of destination)", that is, "Delivered Ex Quay (Duty Paid)(...named port of destination)", that is, "Delivered Ex Quay (Duty Paid)(...named port of destination)".

　　This term refers to the seller’s fulfillment of the following obligations to deliver its prepared goods to the buyer at the designated port of destination, and the seller shall bear all risks and expenses, including duties, taxes and other costs incurred in delivery.

　　Since countries around the world use DEQ terminology, their practices are not completely unified as to who is responsible for the import procedures. Therefore, when using DEQ terminology, you must be careful. This term applies to sea or inland water transportation.

　　12, Duty Unpaid Delivery (DDU)

　　 The English term of this term is "Delivered Duty Unpaid (... named place of destination)", that is, "Delivered Duty Unpaid (... named place of destination)".

It means that the seller will deliver the prepared goods at the place designated by the importing country, and must bear all the costs and risks of the goods transported to the designated place (excluding customs duties, taxes and other official expenses that should be paid when importing). The costs and risks of customs procedures.

　　The buyer shall bear the additional costs and risks caused by the failure to complete the customs clearance of the goods in time.

　　 It is generally recommended that when dealing with countries that are difficult and time-consuming to handle import customs clearance, in order to avoid the buyer's failure to handle import customs clearance in time and affect the transaction, the seller should not use DDU as well. This term applies to all modes of transportation.

　　13、Delivery after Duty Paid (DDP)

　　 The English of this term is "Delivered Duty Paid (... named place of destination)", that is, "Delivered Duty Paid (... named place of destination)". It means that the seller delivers the prepared goods at a designated place in the importing country, and bears all costs and risks of transporting the goods to the designated place, and handles import clearance.

　　 That is to say, the seller completes the import customs clearance procedures at the designated destination, and delivers the unloaded goods on the delivery means of transport to the buyer to complete the delivery. The seller must bear all risks and costs of transporting the goods to the designated destination, including any "taxes" that should be paid at the destination when customs formalities are required (including the responsibilities and risks of customs formalities, as well as the payment of handling fees, Duties, taxes and other fees).

　　 The seller bears the least responsibility under the EXW term, while the seller bears the greatest responsibility under the DDP term.