International Trade Finance Terms from TEFO - S

S

Sales Agreement

A written document (a contract) by which a seller agrees to convey property to a buyer for a stipulated price under specified conditions.

Sales Tax

A tax placed by a state or municipality on items at the time of their sale, usually a percentage of the purchase price.

Salvage

1. Compensation paid for the rescue of a ship, its cargo or passengers from the perils of the sea;
2. or, the act of saving a ship or its cargo from possible loss;
3. or, property saved from a wreck or fire.

Samurai Bond

Bond issued on the Japanese market in yen for non-Japanese borrowers.

Sanction

1. A punitive act taken by one or more nations against another nation which has violated a treaty or international law.
2. A proviso in a law to secure its enforcement by imposing a penalty for its violation or offering a reward for its observance.

Seal

A mark or sign that is used to attest the execution of an instrument, contract, or other document.

Seaworthiness

The fitness or safety of a vessel for its intended use.

Secured

Guaranteed as to payment by the pledge of something valuable as security or collateral.

Security

1. Property pledged as collateral to a debt.
2. Protection; assurance; indemnification.
3. A document that indicates evidence of indebtedness or of equity interest - including notes, bonds, debentures, stocks, certificate of interest, etc. which may be traded on an exchange.

Seizure

The act of taking possession of property.

Seller's Market

Exists when goods are in short supply compared to the demand, at which point the economic forces of business tend to cause goods to be priced at the vendor's estimate of value.

Selling Rate

Rate at which a bank is willing to sell foreign exchange or to lend money.

Service A Loan

To pay interest due on a loan.

Settlement Date

The date on which payment for a transaction must be made.

Shared Foreign Sales Corporation

(USA) A foreign sales corporation formed to make export sales and earn favorable tax treatment thereon. A Shared Foreign Sales Corporation requires more than one and less than 25 unrelated exporters.

Ship's Manifest

A list of the individual shipments constituting the ship's cargo.

Ship's Papers

The documents a ship must carry to meet the safety, health, immigration, commercial and customs requirements of a port of call or of international law.

Ship's Stores

The food, medical supplies, spare parts and other provisions carried for the day-to-day running of a vessel.

Shipment

1. Delivery of cargo to a carrier for transportation.
2. The transportation of goods.
3. The property which is the subject of transportation.

Shipped On Deck

Goods shipped on the deck of a vessel. The bill of lading covering goods shipped on deck must be annotated to that effect.

Shipper

1. One who transports goods for a charge. In normal usage, such a person would be called a carrier, but carriers are also called "shippers"
2. One who tenders goods to a carrier for transportation.
3. The sender of goods to be transported as distinct from the receiver or the consignee.

Shipping Order

Instructions from a shipper to a carrier for the transportation of goods.

Short Form Bill of Lading

A bill of lading on which the detailed conditions of transportation are not listed in full, but instead there is a statement which declares them to be incorporated by reference, and states the place where they are available.

Short of Exchange

The position of a foreign exchange trader who has sold more foreign currency of a particular country than he has in possession to cover sales.

Short Weight

Any shipment found to weigh less than the documents indicate, be it a bill of lading, a dock receipt, a warehouse receipt, an inspection certificate, or a weight tally.

Shortage

A deficiency in quantity shipped, stored, or received.

Sling

A contrivance into which freight is placed to be hoisted into or out of a ship.

Slip

A vessel's berth between two piers.

Small Package Service

A specialized service to guarantee the delivery of small parcels within specified express time limits.

Smuggling

Moving goods across a customs frontier in a clandestine manner, evading customs control. It may be goods on which duty and taxes have been avoided, or it may be goods which are not permitted to be imported or exported.

Soft Currency

The currency of a country that is not readily accepted by other countries and is not readily converted into currencies which are readily acceptable (hard currencies).

Soft Loan

A loan made with easy or generous terms such as low or no interest and long payback.

Sovereign Credit

A direct borrowing or a borrowing guaranteed by the government of a sovereign state.

Sovereign Risk

1. The risk to a lender that the government of a sovereign state may default on its financial obligations.
2. Also, the risk to a lender that unfavorable changes in the borrowers overall currency exchange position might imperil the payment of a loan.
3. Also the risk to a lender that unfavorable political events in the country of the debtor might imperil repayment.

Special Rates

Rates that apply to cargo traffic under special conditions and usually to and from a limited number of points.

Specific Commodity Rate

With reference to freight rates, it is a favorable freight rate usually applicable to certain classes of commodities which move in large volume shipments.

Specific Rate of Duty

A specified amount of duty per unit of weight or other quantity.

Spot Cash

Immediate cash payment on a transaction.

Spot Exchange

The purchase and sale of foreign exchange for delivery and payment at the time of the transaction.

Spot Exchange Rate

The price of one currency expressed in terms of another currency at a given moment in time.

Spot Market

The market for a commodity or foreign exchange available for immediate delivery.

Spot Operations

Foreign exchange dealings and commodity trading in which settlement of the mutual delivery and payment commitment is made immediately.

Spot Price

The selling of goods or commodities for immediate delivery.

Spot Rate

The rate (price per unit) for purchase or sale of a commodity or foreign exchange for immediate delivery.

Spotting

The placing (or parking) of a container in the place where required, to be loaded or unloaded, or held for further action.

Standby Commitment

A bank commitment to loan money up to a specified amount for a specific period, to be used only in a certain contingency.

Standby Letter of Credit

A letter of credit which a bank issues on behalf of its customer to serve as a guarantee to the beneficiary of the letter of credit that the bank's customer will perform a specified contract with the beneficiary. If the customer defaults, the beneficiary may draw funds against the letter of credit as penalties or as payments, whichever the terms of the credit provide.

Steamship (or steamer)

Vessels powered by steam engines. However, the term is often used to describe powered vessels in general, and companies who operate ocean going cargo vessels are often called "steamship companies" despite the fact that the use of steam power for ocean going vessels is obsolete, the modern standard being diesel engines fueled by oil.

Steamship Indemnity

A contract of indemnity issued by a bank to an ocean carrier indemnifying the carrier for any loss incurred for release of goods without surrender of the original bill of lading properly endorsed.

Stevedore

1. A person having charge of the loading and unloading of ships in port.
2. Sometimes used to indicate those laborers who actually perform the physical work of loading and unloading a ship (usually called longshoremen.)

Storage

The keeping of goods in a warehouse or other repository.

Storage Demurrage

A storage charge made on property remaining on the dock or terminal past the permitted "free-time period".

Storage in Transit

The stopping of freight traffic at a point located between the point of origin and destination to be stored and reforwarded at a later date.

Store-Door Delivery

The movement of goods to the consignee's place of business, customarily applied to movement by truck.

Stowage

The arranging and packing of cargo in a vessel for shipment.

Stowage Instructions

Specific instructions given by the shipper or his agent concerning the way in which cargo is to be handled or stowed. It may refer to the location in the hold, whether a particular side is to be on top, the kind of other cargo it may not be near, the number of pieces which may be stacked, what implements may not be used to move it, such as "use no hooks" on bales, etc.

Stowplan

A diagram showing where cargo has been placed in a vessel (also known as a stowage plan.)

Straight Bill of Lading

A nonnegotiable bill of lading that designates a consignee who is to receive the goods and obligates the carrier to deliver the goods to that consignee only.

Strike Clause

An insurance clause which may be included in policies to cover against losses as a result of strikes, riots and civil commotions.

Stripping

The unloading of cargo from a container or truck; (also called devanning.)

Stuffing

The loading of cargo into a container.

Subsidiary

Any organization more than 50 percent of whose voting stock is owned by another firm.

Subsidy

A grant paid by a government to producers or exporters of goods to strengthen their competitive position.

Supply Access

Assurances sought by importing countries that they will, in the future, have fair and equitable access at reasonable prices to supplies of raw materials and other essential imports.

Surcharge

A charge or tax above the usual or customary charge.

Surety

A bond or other security that protects a person, corporation, or other legal entity in case of another's default in the payment of a given obligation, improper performance of a given contract, malfeasance of office, etc. The one who undertakes to be the surety is primarily liable in case of the default.

Survey

1. To examine and report on the condition of a vessel for purposes of establishing seaworthiness, value, or dimensions.
2. To examine and report on the condition of goods or a structure.
3. To examine and report on the condition of goods or property after a casualty to determine the extent of the loss and the probable cause. (Often to support an insurance claim, - although there may be a claim without insurance being involved.)
4. The reports described above, generally conducted by an independent third party, called "a surveyor."

Sushi Bond

Eurodollar bonds issued by Japanese corporations on the Japanese market for Japanese investors.

Swap (transactions)

A kind of financial transaction which has many variations, usually highly complex. They generally involve a simultaneous exchange of assets (the swap) by counterparties for other different assets of comparable value. The assets may be commodities or they may be financial instruments involving interest rates, cash flows, foreign exchange, debts or equities. In addition to financial profits, the swaps have many purposes such as limiting risks, overcoming restrictions in certain markets, or balancing portfolios.

Switch Arrangements

A form of countertrade in which the seller sells on credit and then transfers the credit to a third party at a discount. Or, in another type of switch, the rights to purchase certain goods, resulting from a countertrade operation, are sold to a third party at a discount.