David William

Documentary credits are irrevocable, that is, they cannot be amended without approval from all parties. A supplier may not be comfortable manufacturing goods to meet a specific order if the documentary credit representing payment for that order could be amended or cancelled without their knowledge or acceptance. Once a documentary credit is issued, it cannot be assumed that amendments can or will be accepted by the supplier.

Practically all products and markets are affected by one or several of the WTO Agreements, at least for WTO member countries. Progressive liberalization of trade through successive negotiations has led to lower (or zero) import duties, and thus increased export opportunities, especially in developed country markets. It has also created greater predictability of market access by "binding" reduced (or zero) tariff rates.

Most governments impose technical regulations or standards on (domestic and imported) products to protect human, animal or plant life or health, as well as the environment. The Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade and on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ensure that such requirements do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade and provide certain rights to exporters. It is up to each exporter to find out about such requirements in the relevant foreign markets.

National enquiry points, which WTO members are required to set up in their countries under certain WTO Agreements, can provide information on national laws and regulations that affect your business. Enquiry points are usually ministries of trade, agriculture or national standardization institutes.

First, consult the rules of origin.

If you still have doubts, ask your national customs authority.

If you want to be absolutely certain, apply for a binding origin information decision (BOI) from the relevant authority in an EU country. Once issued, BOIs are binding for the customs authorities in all EU countries. Note that you will still be required to provide proof of origin.

You can only make changes once the endorsement of exit is available and a movement reference number (MRN) has been assigned. To make corrections, you will need to duplicate the current MRN and correct the relevant item with the missing goods. The customs authorities will then require all relevant documents – for example the original invoice and the corrected invoice. They will also need an explanation as to what happened – for example: “goods have been forgotten during the loading process”. A confirmation of receipt from your customer might be a good idea, too. Once all is plausible to the customs authorities, the new data will be accepted and a new endorsement of exit will be issued.

By insulating domestic producers from foreign competition protectionism discourages modernization and improvement. Domestic consumers are also forced to pay higher prices since the price of foreign imports that might bring down retail prices are artificially elevated by government intervention. Also, protectionism invites retaliation from other nations. A protectionist measure that benefits one domestic industry might trigger a retaliatory measure injuring a different, more vulnerable industry.