The language of global trade.

Ad valorem duties are calculated on the customs value (CIF or FOB depending on the country) rather than a fixed amount per unit. They are the most common tariff form worldwide.

Issued by an airline or freight forwarder, the AWB is a receipt of goods and evidence of the contract of carriage. Unlike an ocean bill of lading, it is not a document of title and cannot be endorsed to transfer ownership.

The ATA Carnet lets goods (samples, professional equipment, exhibition items) enter over 80 countries duty- and tax-free for up to a year. In Canada it is issued by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Issued by a carrier, the bill of lading acknowledges receipt of cargo, sets terms of carriage, and serves as a document of title that can be endorsed to transfer ownership in transit.

Goods may be stored, sorted, or repackaged in a customs-bonded warehouse without paying duties or taxes until they are released for domestic consumption - or re-exported duty-free.

The BN, extended with an RM program account, is required to open an import-export account with the CBSA and to clear commercial shipments in and out of Canada.

CARM is the CBSA's digital portal that replaced legacy systems for accounting for duties and taxes. Since 2024, all commercial importers must register in the CARM Client Portal.

CARM is the mandatory system Canadian importers use to post financial security, submit commercial accounting declarations, correct entries, and pay duties and GST/HST on imports.

The CBSA administers customs, immigration at ports of entry, food/plant/animal inspections at the border, and enforces over 90 acts on behalf of other departments. It is the primary regulator for anyone importing into Canada.

The CCI (Form CI1) captures buyer, seller, terms, HS code, value, and origin. A commercial invoice with the same data elements is accepted; under CARM, data is submitted electronically.

In force since 2017, CETA eliminates tariffs on the vast majority of goods traded between Canada and the EU, provided the goods meet CETA rules of origin and are accompanied by an origin declaration.

The CFIA enforces import requirements for food, live animals, plants, seeds, and related products, issues phytosanitary certificates for exports, and works alongside CBSA at the border.

Under CIF, the seller pays cost, insurance, and freight to the named port of destination. Risk transfers to the buyer when goods are loaded on the vessel at origin. Sea/inland waterway only.

Similar to CPT but the seller must also procure cargo insurance (all-risk under Incoterms 2020) for the buyer's benefit up to the named destination. Works for any transport mode.

The seller pays cost and freight to the named port of destination but risk transfers to the buyer at the port of shipment. Sea/inland waterway only.

At origin, a CFS combines shipments from multiple exporters into one container (consolidation). At destination, it breaks the container down so each consignee can clear their portion.

The consignee is not always the buyer - it may be a customs broker, a bank (under a documentary credit), or a warehouse. Only the consignee (or their agent) can take delivery from the carrier.

Rules of origin determine which tariff rate applies. Preferential origin (under an FTA) can differ from non-preferential origin used for labeling and trade statistics.

The seller contracts and pays for carriage to the named place, but risk passes to the buyer when goods are handed to the first carrier. Insurance is not the seller's obligation under CPT.

In Canada, brokers are licensed by the CBSA and file accounting declarations, calculate duties and taxes, and manage tariff classification, valuation, and origin on the importer's behalf.

Most WTO members follow the transaction-value method - the price actually paid or payable - with adjustments for freight, insurance, royalties, and assists.

CUSMA governs preferential trade among the three countries. It updates rules of origin (notably for autos), adds digital-trade and labour chapters, and requires a certification of origin to claim preferential tariffs.

The seller bears all cost and risk to the named place of destination. The buyer handles import clearance and unloading. Works for any transport mode.

The seller delivers goods cleared for import, with all duties and taxes paid, at the named place in the buyer's country. Buyer only has to unload. Any transport mode.

Introduced in Incoterms 2020 (replacing DAT). The seller bears all risk and cost including unloading at the destination. Import clearance remains with the buyer.

Levied by the shipping line when a full container stays at the terminal past the allowed free days. Distinct from detention (charges for keeping the container itself outside the terminal too long).

Applies once the container has left the terminal but is not returned empty in time. Together with demurrage, these are the most common surprise costs in ocean freight.

Duty drawback lets importers recover most or all of the customs duties paid when the imported goods (or products made from them) are subsequently exported. Administered by CBSA in Canada.

EDC provides credit insurance, working-capital financing, buyer financing, and market intelligence to help Canadian companies sell and invest abroad.

Any business importing into or exporting from the EU (including UK post-Brexit) must have an EORI. It is the customs identifier used across all member states.

The seller only makes goods available at their location. Buyer arranges export clearance, loading, transport, and all risk from that point on. Any transport mode.

Risk transfers once the goods are placed alongside the ship at the named port of shipment. Buyer handles loading, main carriage, and import. Sea/inland waterway only.

The seller clears goods for export and hands them to the buyer's carrier at a named place. Risk transfers at handover. Any transport mode - the modern default for containerized cargo.

FCL is faster and safer than LCL because the container is sealed at origin and opened at destination without co-loading, though it requires enough volume to justify a full container.

FITT sets professional standards for international trade in Canada. Its Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) designation is widely recognized among Canadian trade practitioners.

Risk transfers when goods are on board the ship at the named port of shipment. Sea/inland waterway only - do not use FOB for containerized cargo (use FCA instead).

Forwarders book space with carriers (ocean, air, road, rail), consolidate cargo, prepare documents, and coordinate customs clearance. They act as principals or as agents depending on the contract.

Examples include CUSMA, CETA, and CPTPP. FTAs typically require certificates of origin and strict rules of origin to access preferential tariffs.

GACC administers Chinese customs, inspection, and quarantine. Exporters of food and many regulated goods to China must be registered with GACC before shipment.

GAC negotiates Canada's trade agreements, administers export/import controls (permits for controlled goods under the EIPA), and runs the Trade Commissioner Service.

GDP is the broadest measure of economic activity and a key indicator of a country's economic health. In trade analysis, it helps assess market size, purchasing power, and demand potential for exporters.

GDP per capita is widely used to compare living standards and consumer purchasing power across countries. Higher values generally indicate stronger demand for imported goods and services.

GNI includes GDP plus net income from overseas (e.g., remittances, foreign investment returns). It offers a broader view of national economic capacity than GDP alone and is used by the World Bank to classify economies.

Ocean carriers announce GRIs on major trade lanes, typically at the start of a month, to reset spot rates. Contract shippers are usually insulated; spot shippers feel them immediately.

GSP schemes lower or waive MFN tariffs for eligible goods from listed beneficiary countries. Canada's equivalent is the General Preferential Tariff (GPT) and LDCT.

The HHI is calculated by summing the squared market shares of all firms in a market. Values below 1,500 indicate competitive markets; above 2,500 suggest high concentration. Regulators and trade analysts use it to assess monopolistic power and market structure.

Nearly every country uses HS as the basis for their tariff schedule, extending it to 8 or 10 digits nationally (in Canada, 10-digit codes are published in the Customs Tariff).

In consolidated shipments, the forwarder issues an HBL to each shipper while the ocean carrier issues one master B/L (MBL) covering the whole container to the forwarder.

Published by the ICC, Incoterms 2020 (the current version) contains 11 rules: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU, DDP for any mode; FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF for sea and inland waterway only.

Documentary credits (governed by ICC's UCP 600) shift payment risk from the buyer to a bank. The seller is paid on presentation of compliant documents - typically B/L, invoice, packing list, and certificates.

LCL shipments are booked by cubic metre and combined at an origin CFS into a shared container. Cost-effective for small volumes but slower and more handling than FCL.

MFN is the non-discriminatory default rate. Preferential (FTA, GSP) rates can be lower, but MFN cannot be raised for one partner without raising it for all.

NTBs include technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, import licensing, and quotas. They often have a larger effect on trade than tariffs themselves.

Shows piece counts, weights, dimensions, and marks per carton or pallet. Customs and carriers use it to verify contents; it is one of the core commercial documents in every shipment.

Required for exports of plants, seeds, wood packaging, and many foods. Issued by the exporting country's plant-protection authority (the CFIA in Canada) under the IPPC framework.

To claim a preferential tariff, importers must prove the goods meet the agreement's rules of origin, usually with a certificate or self-declaration of origin.

Used to confirm price, terms, and specifications, to open a letter of credit, or to apply for an import permit. It is not a demand for payment or a customs document.

Quotas can be absolute (a hard cap) or tariff-rate quotas (a lower duty applies up to the cap, a higher rate above it). Common in agriculture and textiles.

RoO typically require a change in tariff heading, a minimum regional value content, or a specific production process to have occurred in the exporting country.

Unlike a bill of lading, a sea waybill is not a document of title. It speeds up release at destination because no original document needs to be surrendered - useful between trusted parties or affiliated companies.

Unlike ad valorem duties, specific duties (e.g. $50 per tonne) do not vary with price. Compound duties combine both an ad valorem and a specific component.

Governed by the WTO SPS Agreement, these cover food safety, animal disease, and plant pest controls. In Canada they are enforced by the CFIA and Health Canada.

Tariffs raise revenue, protect domestic industry, or serve as a policy tool. They are the primary variable in landed-cost calculations for international trade.

TCS officers in over 160 cities worldwide help Canadian companies assess markets, find qualified contacts, resolve business problems, and access programs like CanExport.

One 20-foot container = 1 TEU; a 40-foot container = 2 TEU. Vessel capacity, port throughput, and freight statistics are all quoted in TEU.

Charged at both origin and destination terminals. Whether the seller or the buyer pays THC depends on the Incoterm and the carrier's tariff - a frequent source of billing disputes.

Common on ocean routes that go via hub ports (Singapore, Rotterdam, Algeciras). Adds transit time and one more handling step, but often lowers cost versus direct services.

Based in Brussels, the WCO develops customs standards, the HS nomenclature, and the SAFE Framework of Standards for supply-chain security.

The WTO administers trade agreements, hosts negotiations, resolves disputes, and reviews members' trade policies. Its core principle is non-discrimination via MFN and national treatment.

Area is a basic geographic indicator that helps contextualize population density, internal distance, and logistics complexity when assessing an export market.

AVE converts specific duties, quotas, or other non-tariff measures into an equivalent ad valorem rate so that different forms of protection can be compared on a like-for-like basis.

Used in gravity trade models to approximate domestic transport costs. It complements external distance measures when estimating a country's real market accessibility.

A common proxy for bilateral trade distance in gravity models. It's simple but ignores the actual distribution of economic activity within each country.

A binary indicator used in gravity models. Shared ethnological languages lower communication costs and are correlated with higher bilateral trade flows.

Another gravity-model variable. Sharing an official language typically boosts bilateral trade by reducing legal, contractual, and negotiation frictions.

Often measured with the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). High concentration signals dependence on a few markets or products and increases exposure to external shocks.

A dummy variable in gravity trade models. Contiguous countries usually trade more due to lower transport costs and denser business networks.

Part of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). Higher scores mean less corruption, which supports predictable business environments and stronger trade flows.

The index (discontinued in 2021 but still widely cited historically) covers starting a business, permits, credit, taxes, cross-border trade, and contract enforcement.

A lower rank number means a more business-friendly regulatory environment relative to other economies covered in the World Bank Doing Business report.

A refined bilateral distance measure that weights internal locations by economic activity, giving a more realistic proxy for trade costs than capital-to-capital distance.

Calculated as nominal GDP divided by real GDP times 100. Unlike the CPI, the deflator covers the full basket of domestic production and is used to convert nominal to real GDP.

GDP growth signals the pace of economic expansion or contraction and is a leading indicator of import demand and market opportunity for exporters.

Similar to GDP growth but based on national income, so it also reflects net earnings from abroad. Useful for assessing how national purchasing power is evolving.

Used to classify economies as low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle-, or high-income. Higher GNI per capita generally correlates with stronger demand for imported goods and services.

Part of the WGI. Higher scores reflect a capable civil service, credible policy formulation, and reliable public services - all important for a stable trading environment.

Fast-growing import markets typically offer higher opportunity for new exporters. This KPI is used alongside market size to spot rising demand centres.

Approximated from area (e.g. 0.376 x sqrt(area/π)) or from actual economic geography. It is a key input for gravity-model estimates of domestic trade costs.

A basic human-capital indicator. Higher adult literacy is associated with more advanced consumer markets and a more employable workforce.

A demographic KPI used in market segmentation, product targeting, and social/economic analysis of an export destination.

Higher urbanization typically means denser distribution networks, higher purchasing power, and easier market access for imported consumer goods.

A forward-looking indicator of a country's human capital trajectory and of the future workforce and consumer base.

Part of the WGI. Higher scores reflect a more stable environment, reducing country risk for exporters, investors, and long-term supply-chain partners.

A first-order proxy for market size. Combined with income and urbanization metrics, it helps exporters gauge the addressable demand for their products.

High-density markets often have more efficient distribution and retail networks, while low-density markets can require larger logistics investments to reach customers.

A demographic KPI signalling long-term market expansion, changes in workforce size, and future consumption trends.

PPP-based conversions let analysts compare GDP, wages, or prices across countries without being distorted by market exchange-rate volatility. Widely used by the World Bank and IMF.

Part of the WGI. Higher scores signal predictable, market-friendly regulation that promotes private-sector development and cross-border trade.

Part of the WGI. Covers contract enforcement, property rights, the police, and the courts. Strong rule of law reduces commercial risk in trade and investment.

Used to benchmark competitiveness and to identify leading and emerging suppliers or buyers in a specific product category.

A headline trade-flow KPI, usually reported in USD. It measures overall demand for foreign goods and is a starting point for market-opportunity analysis.

A positive balance (surplus) means exports exceed imports; a negative balance (deficit) is the reverse. It is a key indicator of external competitiveness and macroeconomic health.

Part of the WGI. Also captures freedom of expression, association, and media. Higher scores are associated with more transparent, predictable policy environments.

A more accurate proxy for trade costs than simple capital-to-capital distance, because it accounts for where people and production are actually located within each country.