If the initiative to conclude a transaction comes from the buyer, then his appeal to the seller with a request to send an offer (offer) is called a request. One of the main goals of requests is to obtain competitive offers from export firms to choose the best. The request usually indicates the exact name of the necessary goods, its quality, grade, quantity. Orders as a way of preparing an export transaction are sent to regular counterparties and contain only individual conditions for a particular future transaction, and otherwise the parties are guided by the general terms of delivery or the conditions of the previous order.
Participation in trade and industrial exhibitions and fairs is aimed not only at showing the company’s achievements in terms of products, but also at the conclusion of commercial agreements (contracts). The main type of contracts concluded at exhibitions and fairs are transactions on exhibited samples, as well as models, drawings, catalogs with the subsequent delivery of goods. Another type of transaction is the sale of the exhibits themselves (machines, equipment, consumer goods, etc.).
When concluding such transactions, it is usually stipulated that the buyer picks up the purchased goods after the closing of the exhibition or fair. These deals are usually concluded on the condition of a franco-fair. In some cases, the seller (exhibitor) can take over the delivery of the goods to the buyer. At the conclusion of such transactions, it is established which of the parties must pay customs duty and other customs duties, if the goods are not re-exported from this country.
Depending on the general rules established at a given fair or exhibition, or on intergovernmental agreements, exhibitors may bring to the territory of the fair or exhibition and sell a certain number of goods within the established contingents. The size of these contingents is set at an amount that allows the exhibitor to cover all his expenses in local currency for the payment of the space occupied under the stands, transportation costs and the stay of his representatives.
The establishment of contractual relations is always preceded by a pre-contractual period, during which preliminary negotiations are conducted on the upcoming transaction and its main conditions (interpretation of the transaction) are agreed. These negotiations can be conducted by correspondence, by personal meetings and by phone, in practice these methods are combined in various combinations.
A draft contract is usually drawn up by one of the parties and carefully studied by the other party. Agreement on the terms is carried out until an agreement is reached on all the terms of the contract.
An agreement on the basic terms of mutual obligations reached during negotiations by the participants in a foreign trade transaction is usually drawn up in a written document – an agreement or a contract.
In international commercial practice, various methods of concluding foreign trade transactions are used:
signing of the contract by the parties participating in it; the buyer’s acceptance of the seller’s firm offer; acceptance by the seller of the buyer’s contraference; acceptance by the seller of the buyer’s written consent to the terms of the free offer (buyer’s contraference); confirmation by the seller of the order made by the buyer.