Read and translate the following texts:

Each country has to import the articles and commodities it does not itself produce, and it has to earn foreign exchange to pay for them. It does this by exporting its own manufactured articles and surplus raw materials. Thus the import and export trades are two sides of the same coin, and both can have beneficial effects on the home market. Imports create competition for home-produced goods; exporting gives a manufacturer a larger market for his products, so helping to reduce the unit cost. In each case the effect is to keep prices in the home market down.

But there may be factors that compel governments to place restrictions on foreign trade. Imports may be controlled or subjected to a customs duty to protect a home industry, or because the available foreign exchange has to be channelled into buying more essential goods. And exports, too, may be restricted to conserve a particular raw material required by a developing home industry.

These factors mean that importing and exporting are subject to a lot of formalities, such as customs entry and exchange control approval, from which the home retail and wholesale trades are free. They also mean that foreign trade involves specialized knowledge and highly-trained personnel.

Answer the questions:

1. Why does a country import goods?

2. What can be exported?

3. What effect do import and export have on the home market?

4. Why do governments place restrictions on foreign trade?

5. What formalities are import and export subject to?

The most important shipping document is the bill of lading. It is: firstly, a contract between the shipper and the shipping company; secondly, a receipt for the consignment; and thirdly, a document of title. A document of title is proof of ownership, so the person who owns the B/L may claim the goods. A B/L is negotiable — it can be sold. If you sell the goods you give the buyer the B/L so it can be used to claim the goods. The advantage of this is that the importer can sell the goods while the ship is still at sea. The buyer then presents the B/L and collects the goods when the ship arrives at the port of destination. The first importer has the money to start another transaction. This was very important when voyages took many months.

A bill of lading doesn't only contain a full description of the consignment—numbers and weights and marks of packages—but a lot of other information as well. It quotes the name of the shipper and the carrying vessel, the ports of shipment and destination, the freight rate, the name of the consignee and the date of shipment, which is very important from a contractual point of view.

It may also contain a number of other clauses. Some bills of lading are marked "freight paid", when a shipper is selling C.I.F. or C. and F., others may allow transhipment, which means that the cargo may be transferred from one ship to another at some intermediate port. Normally four copies of a bill of lading are issued. Two copies will be signed by the ship's master or his agent, two remaining unsigned. The shipper then sends one signed and one unsigned copy to his consignee by airmail, and the other by sea-mail. He can ask for extra copies for his files.