Glossary of Trade & Shipping Terms

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Glossary of Trade & Shipping Terms - T

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T. & C.C. - Technical and Clauses Committee
T. & G. - Tongued and grooved (timber trade)
t. & s. - Touch and stay
T.&G. - Tongued and grooved (timber trade)
T.B. - Trial Balance
T.B.A. - Tobe advised, To be agreed
T.C.I. - Time charterer's interest
T.D.W. - Tonnage deadweight
T.E. - Trade expenses
T.E.E. - Trans-Europe Express
T.F. - Tropical freshwater
T.G.B - Tongued, grooved and beaded
T.I.B. - Trimmed in bunkers
T.I.V. - Total insured value
T.L. - Total loss
T.L.O. - Total loss only
T.L.V.O. - Total loss of vessel only
T.O.R. - Time on Risk
T.O.T. - Terms of trade
T.O.V.A.L.O.P. - Tanker Owners' Voluntary Agreement Concerning Liability for Oil Pollution
T.P.I. - Tons per inch
T.P.Liab. - Third party liability
T.P.N.D. - Theft, pilferage and non-delivery
T.Q. - Tale quale (as found)
T.S.I. - Total sum insured
T.T. - Telegraphic transfer
T.T.F. - Timber Trade Federation
T.W.M.C. - Transport, wages, maintenance and care
T/C - Till countermanded
t/h - Tonnes per hour
T/L - Total loss
T/O - Transfer order
T/S - Transhipment
TA - Trade Assistant
TAA - Trade Adjustment Assistance
Table of Denial Orders - The TDO is a list of individuals and firms that have been disbarred from shipping or receiving U.S. goods or technology. Firms and individuals on the list may be disbarred with respect to either controlled commodities or general destination (across-the-board) exports. The list is published in the Export Administration Regulations.
TAC - Technical Advisory Committee
TAP - Trade Assistance and Planning Office
Tare Weight - The weight of a container and/or packing materials without the weight of the goods it contains.
Targeted Export Assistance Program - See: Market Promotion Program.
TARIC - Integrated Tariff of the European Community
Tariff - A tax assessed by a government in accordance with its tariff schedule on goods as they enter (or leave) a country. May be imposed to protect domestic industries from imported goods and/or to generate revenue. Types include ad valorem, specific, variable, or some combination.
Tariff Act of 1930 - Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, provides for the imposition of antidumping duties on imported merchandise found to have been sold in the United States at "less than fair value," if these sales have caused or are likely to cause material injury to, or materially retard the establishment of, an industry in the United States. The following terms and phrases are commonly used in connection with procedings under The Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. See: Administrative Review Antidumping Duty Antidumping Investigation Notice Antidumping Duty Order Antidumping Petition Assessment "Class or Kind" of Merchandise Constructed Value Cost of Production Critical Circumstances Deposit of Estimated Duties Disclosure Meeting Dismissal of Petition Dumping Margin Exporter's Sales Price Fair Value Final Determination Foreign Market Value Hearing Period of Investigation Preliminary Determination Protective Order Purchase Price Revocation of Antidumping Duty Order & Termination of Suspended Investigation Section 337 Summary Investigation Suspension of Investigation Suspension of Liquidation.
Tariff Anomaly - A tariff anomaly exists when the tariff on raw materials or semi-manufactured goods is higher than the tariff on the finished product.
Tariff Bindings - The agreement by contracting parties to maintain the duty rates on specified goods at negotiated levels or below. Bindings are provided for in GATT Article II.
Tariff Escalation - A situation in which tariffs on manufactured goods are relatively high, tariffs on semi-processed goods are moderate, and tariffs on raw materials are nonexistent or very low.
Tariff Escalation - This term refers to the common situation whereby raw materials and less processed goods are generally dutied at lower rates than more processed versions of the same or derivative goods. For instance, the import duty in most countries is generally higher for petrochemicals than for the petroleum and other raw materials necessary for their production. It is argued by primary commodity exporting nations that this situation confers a higher degree of protection for the processing industries of importing countries than nominal tariff rates would suggest.
Tariff Quota - A tariff that remains at the same level until a certain quantitative limit (quota) is reached. The duty on imports ports in excess of that level will be higher.
Tariff Quotas - Application of a higher tariff rate to imported goods after a specified quantity of the item has entered the country at a lower prevailing rate.
Tariff Schedule - A comprehensive list of the goods which a country may import and the import duties applicable to each product.
Tariff Schedules of the United States - See: Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated.
Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated - Effective 1979 to January 1989, the U.S. import statistics were initially collected and compiled in terms of the commodity classifications in the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA), an official publication of the U.S. International Trade Commission embracing the legal text of the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) together with statistical annotations. This publication was superseded by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated for Statistical Reporting Purposes (HTSUSA) in January 1989. Effective 1979 to January 1989, the U.S. export statistics were initially collected and compiled in terms of the commodity classifications in Schedule B, Statistical Classification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities Exported from the United States. Schedule B is a U.S. Bureau of the Census publication and, during this period, was based on the framework of the TSUS. In January 1989, this publication was replaced by Schedule B based on the Harmonized System. See: Schedule B.
Tariff Surcharges - An import tax that is usually assessed at a flat rate over and above whatever duties are assessed.
Tax Information Exchange Agreement - A TIEA imposes on the agreeing countries a mutual and reciprocal obligation to exchange information relating to the enforcement of their respective tax laws. A TIEA provides a means by which a signatory government can pursue certain tax evaders, particularly in cases involving large tax claims or drug enforcement. Countries that sign a TIEA agree to: (a) exhange tax information at the government level in a form admissable to U.S. or host country courts; (b) collect information without regard to the taxpayer's nationality; (c) establish a means for compelling the production of tax information; and (d) ensure that local laws do not prohibit the sharing of tax information. A TIEA can support tourism in a signatory country because the Agreement facilitates Internal Revenue Service approval of the destination as a necessary business expense (deductible for Federal income tax purposes) for U.S. citizens and companies which seek to justify attendance at business conventions and seminars in a signatory country.
TCI - Third Country Initiative
TCMD - Third Country Meat Directive
Tcpa. - Target closest point of approach
TD - Table of Denial Orders
TDA - Trade and Development Agency
TEA - Targeted Export Assistance Program
Technical Advisory Committees - The TACs are voluntary groups of industry and government representatives who provide guidance and expertise to Commerce on export control matters, including evaluation of technical issues; worldwide availability, use and production of technology; and licensing procedures related to specific industries. TACs have been set up for: (a) materials (Materials Technical Advisory Committe, MATAC), (b) biotechnology (Biotechnology Technical Advisory Committee, BIOTAC), (c) computer systems (CSTAC), (d) electronics (ETAC) (formerly "semiconductors"), (e) sensors (STAC) (formerly "electronic instrumentation"), (f) materials processing equipment (MPETAC) (formerly "automated manufacturing equipment"), (g) regulations and procedures (RPTAC), (h) telecommunications equipment (TETAC), and (i) transportation and related equipment (TRANSTAC).
Technical Barrier to Trade - A specification which sets forth characteristics a product must meet (such as levels of quality, performance, safety or dimensions) in order to be imported.
Technical Barrier to Trade - According to the Standards Code, a specification which sets forth characteristics or standards a product must meet (such as levels of quality, performance, safety, or dimensions) in order to be imported.
Technology - BXA regulations define technical data as "information of any kind that can be used, or adapted for use, in the design, production, manufacture, utilization, or reconstruction of articles or materials. Technology can be either "tangible" or "intangible." Models, prototypes, blueprints or operating manuals (even if stored on recording media) are examples of tangible technology. Intangible technology consists of technical services, such as training, oral advice, information guidance and consulting.
Technology Transfer - This term is used to characterize "the transfer of knowledge generated and developed in one place to another, where is it is used to achieve some practical end." Technology may be transferred in many ways: by giving it away (technical journals, conferences, emigration of technical experts, technical assistance programs); by industrial espionage; or by sale (patents, blueprints, industrial processes, and the activities of multinational corporations).
Temporary Importation under Bond - When an importer makes entry of articles brought into the United States temporarily and claimed to be exempt from duty under Chaper 98, Subchapter XIII, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, a bond is posted with Customs which guarantees that these items will be exported within a specified time frame (usually within one year from the date of importation). Failure to export these items makes the importer liable for the payment of liquidated damages for breach of the bond conditions. (See 19 CFR 10.31.). The Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB) is usually twice the amount of duties and other payments the importer would otherwise be required to pay. Merchandise imported under TIB is usually for sales demonstration, testing, or repair.
Terms of Reference - TOR is World Bank parlance referring to the preparation of a description of the assignment for consultants to be selected by borrowers following World Bank procedures.
Terms of Trade - Terms of trade refers to the economic factors affecting a country's foreign trade in goods and services, such as dependency on foreign sourcing and relative competitiveness in production.
TEU - Twenty-foot equivalent unit
Textile Surveillance Body - The TSB is an international body which meets in Geneva at the GATT to monitor the Multi-Fiber Arrangement. The TSB receives reports of all textile restrictions and can make recommendations to participants. It can mediate disputes between parties to the MFA but has no binding powers. Membership is balanced between importing and exporting members.
TF - Trade Fair (Overseas-Recruited)
TFC - Trade Fair Certification
TFW - Trade Fair (Washington-Recruited)
Third Country Initiative - The TCI was created to help countries establish an export control system on strategic commodities. Such countries, while not members of CoCom, would establish export control systems that provide levels of protection as close as possible to those provided by CoCom. Such systems include: (a) import certifications and delivery verifications, (b) controls over reexports of CoCom-origin, controlled goods and indigenous exports of CoCom-controlled goods, (c) cooperation in pre-licensing and post-shipment checks, and (d) cooperation on enforcement matters. The United States supports the third country initiative through section 5(k) of the Export Administration Act, which allows it to provide selected non-CoCom countries with the same licensing benefits provided to CoCom members.
Third Country Meat Directive - The TCMD is a regulation by which the European Community controls meat imports based on sanitary requirements. The TCMD requires individual inspection and certification by EC veterinarians of U.S. meat plants wishing to export to the EC.
Threshold Value - The dollar value of contracts above which government entities are covered by the government procurement code.
Through Bill of Lading - A single bill of lading covering receipt of the cargo at the point of origin for delivery to the ultimate consignee, using two or more modes of transportation.
TIAS - Treaties and Other International Acts Series
TIB - Temporary Importation under Bond
TIC - Trade Information Center
TIEA - Tax Information Exchange Agreement
Tied Aid Credit - Tied aid credit refers to the practice of providing grants and/or concessional loans, either alone or combined with export credits, linked to procurement from the donor country.
Tied Loan - A loan made by a government agency that requires a foreign borrower to spend the proceeds in the lender's country.
TIFTs - Trade and Investment Facilitation Talks
TIMS - Textiles Information Management System