1. plastics

2. oil

3. gas

4. ores

5. Foodstuffs

6. cotton

7. wheat

8. vegetable oils

9. metal (non-ferrous)

10. cocoa

11. sugar

12. rubber

13. corn

14. wool

15. fur

16. tea

17. bristles

18. spices

19. horses (race horses)

20. animals

по низкой цене

на низком уровне

высокий

благоприятный, подходящий

самые подходящие условия

благоприятное впечатление (мнение, торговый баланс) заранее

Они должно быть оплатили рас­ходы на содержание демзала за­ранее.

пластики нефть газ руды

продовольственные товары хлопок пшеница

растительные масла металл (цветной) какао сахар

каучук, резина

зерно (часть пшеница), Ам. ку­куруза, маис шерсть

мех, обыкн. мн. ч. пушнина, ме­ха

чай

щетина пряности

лошади (скаковые, рысистые ло­шади) животные

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LESSON 5

T ext 5 A: Commercial Activities and Types of Contracts

Text 5 B: The Main Characteristics of the Contract of Sale

Grammar Revision: the Subjunctive Mood (in if-clauses)

Revision of Vocabulary of Lessons 1-5

Text 5 C: Lloyd's

T EXT 5 A. COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES AND TYPES OF CONTRACTS

Foreign trade comprises three main activities: importing (i.e. buying goods from foreign Sellers), exporting (i.e. selling goods to foreign Buyers) and re-exporting ( i.e. ouying goods from foreign Sellers and selling them to foreign Buyers without processing in one's own country).

All commercial activities in foreign trade may be divided into basic ones associated with the conclusion of foreign trade contracts for the exchange of goods and auxiliary ones ensuring their successful performance, i.e. associated with carriage of goods, their insurance, Banking operations (financing the deals, settlement of payments between the Sellers and the Buyers, guaranteeing the strict observance of their mutual liabilities), as well as Customs and other activities. Conclusion of agency agreements, agreements with the Suppliers for export goods and with Importers for the purchase of goods, agreements with advertising agencies and firms dealing with the market research and with other organizations helping to achieve the targets set for for­eign trade also refer to auxiliary activities.

There may be about 10 or more auxiliary operations to one basic.

In accordance with commercial usage existing in capitalist countries, contracts of sale and other agreements may be concluded either verbally or in writing.

The laws of the USSR do not recognize the validity of any agree­ment concluded verbally by the Trade Representation of the USSR abroad or by export or import organization in this country. According to Soviet law contracts must always be made in the form or duly signed documents containing the terms of an agreement between two firms or associations called counterparts (or parties) to supply goods or services as a rule at a fixed price.

Agreements and contracts concluded by the USSR Trade Rep­resentations are to be signed by the Trade Representative or his Deputy (first signature) and by an official of the Trade Representation specially authorized to sign agreements and contracts (second signature). The names of persons entitled to sign documents and contracts on behalf of the export or import associations abroad are published in the official journal of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations called "Foreign Trade".

Agreements and contracts made in our country are to be signed by Director General of the foreign trade association or his deputies (first signature) and by directors of firms or their deputies (second signature). Sometimes senior engineers of the firms are legally authorized to sign these documents.

In international trade contracts of sale, contracts for construction work (very often for the delivery, erection and commissioning of the

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equipment for industrial enterprises) and lease are most frequent among a variety of basic deals. Contracts of sale include turnkey contracts and large-scale contracts on a compensation basis. There may also be barter deals and compensatory deals? .

Licence agreements stand apart from all the above contracts because they do not deal with selling and buying physical goods but with the safe and purchase of ideas, scientific-technical knowledge in the form of licences, patents and know-how. As a rule there are practically no standard licence agreements. Each licence agreement is more or less unique in itself, i.e. has its own specific individual characteristics.

To ensure the fulfilment of the above basic contracts successfully and profitably, a number of auxiliary agreements (contracts) are to be concluded: Marine Insurance Policies or Certificates² , Charter Parties³, Agency and Distributorship agreements and so on. The All-Union Self-Supporting Foreign Trade Association is the one responsible for carry injjon trade and other forms of foreign economic relations at the MFER, and import-export departments, at manufacturing enterprises.

Apart from marketing carried on regularly by special marketing departments at manufacturing works or branch ministries, which helps plan foreign trade, foreign trade activities proper comprise several stages:

1. market research work (analysis of the market conditions)

2. choosing proper methods of trade on this particular market

3. planning the foreign trade operation

4. carrying on a publicity campaign

1. preparation and conclusion of a contract of sale with a foreign counterpart

5. fulfilment of contract obligations.⁴

Notes on the text:

1. a compensatory deal - компенсационная сделка

a large-scale contract on a compensation basis - крупно­масштабный контракт на компенсационной основе. Компенсационная сделка - договор купли-продажи, предусмат­ривающий взаимную поставку товаров на равную стоимость. В отличие от товарообменной (бартерной) сделки - договора мены, при компенсационной сделке покупатель товара уплачивает об­условленную цену товара.

крупномасштабный контракт на компенсационной основе воз­ник сравнительно недавно. Суть его в том, что Продавец постав­ляет оборудование и ссужает строительство предприятия, а По­купатель расплачивается (компенсирует стоимость оборудования и ссуду) в будущем продукцией, которую будет производить это предприятие.

2. Insurance Policy or Certificate - страховой полис или сертификат. При морском страховании грузов страховой полис - выдаваемый страховщиком документ, содержащий условия заключенного до­ говора страхования. Поскольку страховой полис может выда­ ваться на довольно длительный срок (обычно год), на большое количество товара, который может поставляться несколькими партиями, употребляется другой документ, называемый серти­ фикатом, который выдается на каждую партию товара.

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В отличие от the insurance of goods (страхование товара), слово assurance (страхование) обычно употребляется в сочетании "life assurance" и означает "страхование жизни".

3. Charter Party - чартер-партия, договор о фрахтовании судна, который может заключаться на перевозку груза на одни рейс (или несколько последовательных рейсов) и тогда называется "Voyage Charter Party", на определенный срок и называется "Time Charter Party" и по которому судно может на определен­ный срок передаваться полностью, как бы в аренду, фрахтовате­лю, который отвечает за и оплачивает все, включая и экипаж судна, тогда он называется " Demise Charter or Bareboat Charter Parties".

В настоящее время существует и приобретает все большее зна­чение так называемый " a Contract of Affreightment" (договор морской перевозки грузов), который заключается на перевозку большого количества груза между определенными портами на больший срок (часто на год или на несколько лет). Его отличи­тельной чертой является то, что он не привязан к определенно­му судну. Судовладелец обязуется перевезти определенное коли­чество груза в определенные сроки и имеет право заменять одно судно другим, если необходимо. Такой договор обычно заключа­ется при наличии и необходимости регулярной перевозки огром­ных количеств груза по одному и тому же маршруту, например, руды, леса, угля, нефти.

4. Учебник в основном касается коммерческих операций на 5 и 6 этапах, т.е. (5) Подготовка и заключение внешнеторгового конт­ракта и (6) Исполнение контрактных обязательств. Переговоры, переписка и другие виды коммуникации на этих этапах обычно ведутся с иностранными контрагентами на иностранном (в дан­ном случае на английском) языке.

Что касается первых четырех этапов, эта деятельность ведется внутри страны, как правило, на русском языке с другими со­ветскими партнерами и не подлежит проработке в данном учеб­нике. Это касается также технических переговоров, хотя они и ведутся с иностранными контрагентами и на иностранном языке. Для их ведения приглашается обычно переводчик.

TEXT 5 В. THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONTRACT OF SALE

A written contract of sale is made out in the form of a document signed both by the Buyers and the Sellers.

When there is no necessity of introducing special terms and conditions into the contract of sale, Soviet associations use standard forms of contracts containing the following clauses (articles):

1. Naming (definition) of the Parties

2. Subject of the contract and volume of delivery

3. Prices and the total value (amount) of the contract (including terms of delivery)

4. Time (dates) of delivery

5. Terms of payment

6. Transportation («carriage) of goods (packing and marking, ship­ ment)

7. The Sellers' guarantees (the quality of the goods)

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8. Sanctions and compensation ror damage

9. Insurance

1Q. Force majeure circumstances

11. Arbitration

12. General provisions

Also, there may be standard General Conditions which form an integral part of the contract and are either printed on the reverse side of the contract or at the foot of the face of the contract or attached to it.

In the case of a contract for sophisticated machinery and equipment there may be other clauses: technical conditions, test and inspection conditions, requirements to technical documentation, supervision of erection and putting the machinery into operation (commissioning), and sending specialists for the purpose, training of the Buyers' specialist, the Sellers' obligations for technical servicing and the like. These clauses may be included in the contract itself or in the Appendices to the contract which are an integral part of it.

When detailed special terms and conditions are introduced into the contract or the agreement, it is customary to draw up an individual contract or agreement in each particular case (e.g. a turnkey contract, a licence agreement).

Sometimes Soviet organizations use standard forms of contracts worked out by the biggest federations and associations of merchants and importers abroad, by exchanges, Chambers of Commerce and the like for use in particular trade.

These standard forms of contracts, for example, are used in grain trade, seed, sugar, cotton and other trades.

In the sale of Soviet timber c.i.f. British ports a special form of contract has been adopted by the Timber Trade Federation of the UK and by V/O "Exportles".

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