Glossary of Trade & Shipping Terms - Q
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- Q.S. - Quota share
- Qlty - Quality
- qn. - Quotation
- QRs - Quantitative Restrictions
- Quadrilateral Meetings - These are meetings involving trade ministers from the U.S., the European Community, Canada, and Japan to discuss trade policy matters.
- Quantitative Restrictions - Explicit limits, usually by volume, on the amount of a specified commodity that may be imported into a country, sometimes also indicating the amounts that may be imported from each supplying country. Compared to tariffs, the protection afforded by QR's tends to be more predictable, being less affected by changes in competitive factors. Quotas have been used at times to favor preferred sources of supply. The GATT generally prohibits the use of quantitative restrictions, except in special cases, such as those cited in Articles XX (which permits exceptions to protect public health, national gold stocks, goods of archeological or historic interest, and a few other special categories of goods), or Article XXI (which permits exceptions in the interest of "national security"), or for safeguard purposes, when the appropriate procedures in Article XIX have been followed.
- quay - Solid structure alongside a navigable waterway, used for loading and unloading of ships.
- Quotas and Quota System - Absolute quotas permit a limited number of units of specified merchandise to be entered or withdrawn for consumption during specified periods. Tariff-rate quotas permit a specified quantity of merchandise to be entered or withdrawn at a reduced rate during a specified period. Quotas are established by Presidential Proclamations, Executive Orders, or other legislation. The Quota System, a part of Customs' Automated Commercial System, controls quota levels (quantities authorized) and quantities entered against those levels. Visas control exports from the country of origin. Visa authorizations are received from other countries and quantities entered against those visas are transmitted back to them. Control of visas and quotas simplify reconciliation of other countries' exports and U.S. imports. See: International Monetary Fund.
