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East African Development Bank
The EADB was created in 1967 to promote economic development among Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Bank headquarters are in Kampala, Uganda. o East Asian Economic Caucus The EAEC is a regional consultative forum proposed by Malaysia in late 1990 under the name of East Asian Economic Grouping. Participation would be limited to Asian nations.

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
ECCB, established in October 1983, promotes economic development, monetary stability and credit and exchange among eight member nations. Bank headquarters is in Basseterre, St. Kitts.

Eastern Europe Business Information Center
EEBIC provides information on trade and investment opportunities, trade regulations and legislation, sources of financing, and government and industry contacts in the former Eastern Bloc. The Center is a Department of Commerce service which was initiated in January 1990. EEBIC is a Department of Commerce service which was established in January 1990. The Center maintains a 24-hour automated flashfax system which is reached on 202-482-5745; voice telephone is 202-482-2645.

Eco-Label
An eco-label is a voluntary mark awarded by the European Community (EC) to producers who can show that their product is significantly less harmful to the environment than similar products. The EC environment ministers agreed to the concept of an eco-label in March of 1992. The EC Commission and member states are drafting proposals for eco-labelling criteria with the intention of providing a clear commercial benefit for developing less polluting products and processes.

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
See: United Nations Regional Commissions.

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
See: United Nations Regional Commissions.

Economic and Social Council
ECOSOC was created in 1945 to coordinate the economic and social work of the United Nations. The Council undertakes studies and makes recoomendations on development, world trade, industrialization, natural resources, human rights, the status of women, population, narcotics, social welfare, science and technology, crime prevention, and other issues. The Council structure includes five regional commissions and six functional commissions.
The functional commissions include:
- Commission on Human Rights
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs
- Commission for Social Development
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Population Commission
- Statistical Commission.
See also United Nations Regional Commissions.

Economic Bulletin Board
The EBB is a personal computer-based economic bulletin board operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. The EBB is an online source for trade leads and statistical releases from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, the International Trade Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve Board, Department of the Treasury, and other Federal agencies. The EBB may be reached 24 hours each day, 7 days each week at 202-482-3870 (300/1200/2400 bps) with PC communication switches set to no parity, 8 bit words and 1 stop bit. The 9600 bps service uses US Robotics Dual Standard HST/V.32 modems and can be reached by dialing 202-482-2584. Information may be obtained by calling 202-482-1986 (M-F, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, EST)

Economic Community of Central African States
The Economic Community of Central African States (French: Communaut‚ Economique des ats de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC) was created by the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa to promote regional economic cooperation, eliminate trade restrictions, and establish a Central African Common Market. Members include: Burundi, the Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Sao Tom‚ and Principe, and Zaire. The Community was established in 1983 (became operational in 1985); headquarters are in Libreville, Gabon.

Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries
The Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (French: Communaut‚ Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs, CEPGL) was created in September 1976 to promote regional economic cooperation and integration. The Community is associated with the Great Lakes States Development Bank (Banque de D‚veloppement des tats des Grands Lacs). Community members include: Burundi, Rwanda, and Zaire. Headquarters are in Gisengi, Rwanda. See: Development Bank of the Great Lakes States.

Economic Community of West African States
ECOWAS, established in May 1975 by the Treaty of Lagos (first operating in November 1976), is an economic association of 16 West African nations aimed at creating a full customs union (not yet achieved) as well as social and cultural fellowship. Members include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, C“te d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Community headquarters are in Abuja, Nigeria.

Economic Cooperation Organization
The ECO strengthens cooperation to improve socio-economic conditions among the populations of members. The Organization was founded in 1964; headquarters are in Tehran, Iran. Members include: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

Economic indicators.
Key statistics used to analyze business conditions and make forecasts.

Economic Officers
Embassy officials who analyze and report on macroeconomic trends and trade policies and their implications for U.S. policies and programs. Economic Officers represent U.S. interests and arrange and participate in economic and commercial negotiations. See: Commercial Officers Foreign Service.

Economic Policy Council
The EPC was established by Executive Order in 1985 to address major trade policy issues in a single forum as a means of reducing tensions between different groups, such as the Trade Policy Committee and the Senior Interagency Group. The Council was modified in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Membership includes Treasury (chair pro tem), State, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Transportation, the OMB, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.

Economic Research Service
The Agriculture Department's ERS provides expertise, data, models and research information about the agricultural economies and policies of foreign countries, the agricultural trade and development relationships between foreign countries and the United States, and U.S. agricultural policies. Topics include: (a) agricultural trade and trade policies and their relationship to the economic, technical, and political factors affecting agricultural trade among countries; (b) economic and agricultural market structure, efficiency, and performance of foreign countries; (c) technical production systems of foreign countries; and (d) foreign governments' production, consumption, monetary, and trade policies.

Economic Sanctions
Economic sanctions used for foreign policy purposes are economic penalties, such as prohibiting trade, stopping financial transactions, or barring economic and military assistance, used to achieve the goal of influencing the target nation. Sanctions can be imposed selectively, stopping only certain trade and financial transactions or aid programs, or comprehensively, halting all economic relations with the target nation. While sanctions can be imposed to serve multiple goals, the measures are more successful in achieving the less ambitious and often unarticulated goals of: (a) upholding international norms by punishing the target nation for unacceptable behavior and (b) deterring future objectionable actions. Sanctions are usually less successful in achieving the most prominently stated goal of making the target country comply with the sanctioning nation's stated wishes.

Economic Stabilization Fund
The ESF is is a fund used to stabilize the U.S. dollar in times of foreign exchange volatility. The fund is administered jointly by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board, through its New York offices. Fund resources, appropriated by Congress, are usually provided fifty percent by Treasury and the Fed. Although not a major role, the fund has also been used in swap agreements with other countries to support their currencies. The fund was established by the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.

Economic Support Fund
ESF is an Agency for International Development appropriation account for funding economic assistance to countries based on considerations of economic and foreign policy interests of the United States, often in conjuntion with military base rights or access rights agreements. Country allocations are determined by the State Department consistent with Congressional earmarks. To the extent possible, the use of ESF conforms to the basic policy directions underlying development assistance. Funds can be used for commodity imports, balance of payments support or as cash grants for budget support. See: Development Assistance.

Economic Zones
Economic zones are designated regions in a country which operate under rules that provide special investment incentives, including duty free treatment for imports, for manufacturing plants which reexport their products. The term "economic zone" is currently used in the People's Republic of China and the former Soviet Union.
See also Free Trade Zones.

Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a broad term which encompasses nature tourism, adventure tourism, ethnic tourism, responsible or wilderness-sensitive tourism, soft-path or small-scale tourism, low-impact tourism, responsible or wilderness tourism, and sustainable tourism. Scientific, educational, or academic tourism (such as biotourism, archetourism, and geotourism) are also forms of ecotourism. The definition of the term stresses the destinations and objectives of ecotourism from the traveler's point of view.

ECU
See European Currency Unit

Edge Act Corporations
These are banks that are subsidiaries either to bank holding companies or other banks established to engage in international banking and foreign investment and business transactions.

Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce, and Transportation
EDIFACT is an international syntax used in the interchange of electronic data. Customs uses EDIFACT to interchange data with the importing trade community.

Electronic License Application and Information Network
ELAIN is a BXA 24-hour on-line service which allows exporters to submit license applications electronically through value-added network vendors.

EMC
See Export Management Company.

Emerging markets.
Financial markets in nations that are developing market-based economies and have become popular with U.S. investors.

Enabling Clause
Part I of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) framework which permits developed country members to give more favorable treatment to developing countries and special treatment to the least developed countries, notwithstanding the most-favored-nation provisions of the GATT.

Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative
In December 1990, the United States announced a series of measures -- collectively referred to as the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative (EPCI) -- to reduce certain proliferation risks. Under the initiative, the U.S. requires licenses for exports of:
(a) precursor chemicals that can be used in making chemical weapons and whole chemical plants to make such precursors;
(b) potential chemical and biological weapon-related industrial facilities, related designs, technologies, and equipment; and
(c) any items to destinations that raise proliferation concerns when the exporter knows, or is informed by the Commerce Department, of such concerns.
The initiative also calls for:
(d) penalties on U.S. firms and individuals that promote the spread of chemical weapons and missile technology;
(e) control lists of (i) dual-use equipment and technologies related to chemical and biological weapons and missiles, and (ii) countries to which exports of such items should be controlled; and
(f) multilateral adoption of the initiative's measures.

Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility
The ESAF is a system by which the International Monetary Fund loans concessional resources to assist poor countries. These countries have extended balance of payments deficits and pursue an orderly plans for correcting the deficits and promoting medium-term economic structural adjustment and macroeconomic programs. While similar to the Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF), ESAF has triple the resources available for supporting structural adjustment and monitors performance more closely. Both facilities use the Policy Framework Paper as a means for attracting additional support structural adjustment. SAF was established in March 1986, ESAF in December 1987; both facilities require repayments to be made in 5« to 10 years. More than 60 countries are eligible for assistance under these facilities. See also International Monetary Fund Policy Framework Paper.

Enterprise for the Americas Initiative
The EAI, launched in June 1990, supports development of a new economic relationship between the United States and Latin America. The EAI has trade investment, debt, and environment aspects. Trade aspects include efforts to advance free trade agreements with markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly with groups of countries that have associated for purposes of trade liberalization. As part of this process, the U.S. seeks to enter into "framework" agreements on trade and investment with interested countries or groups of countries. These agreements set up intergovernmental councils to discuss and, where appropriate, to negotiate the removal of trade and investment barriers. Investment aspects include the establishment of an Investment Sector Loan program and the Multilateral Investment Fund to support investment reforms. See: Investment Sector Loan Program Multilateral Investment Program.

Enterprise Unipersonnelle … Responsabilite Limitee
EURL (French: "sole ownership limited liability company") combines features of both a corporation and a partnership. This form of organization can be established with only one shareholder.

Entrepot
An intermediary storage facility where goods are kept temporarily for distribution within a country or for reexport.

Entry Summary System
An entry is the minimum amount of documentation needed to secure the release of imported merchandise. The Entry Summary System, a part of Customs' Automated Commercial System, contains data on release, summary, rejection, collection, liquidation, and extension or suspension.

Entry Summary Selectivity System
The Entry Summary Selectivity System, a part of Customs' Automated Commercial System, provides an automated review of entry data to determine whether team or routine review is required. Selectivity criteria include an assessment of risk by importer, tariff number, country of origin, manufacturer, and value. Summaries with Census warnings, as well as quota, antidumping and countervailing duty entry summaries are selected for team review. A random sample of routine review summaries is also automatically selected for team review.

Entry Value
The U.S. Customs Service defines entry value (or entered value) as the value reflected on the enry documentation submitted by the importer.

Equipment
Any item having a life expectancy of one year or more.

Escalator clause.
A clause in a contract providing for increases in costs such as labor expenses and materials.

Escape Clause
The escape clause, which can be invoked under GATT Article XIX, allows countries to temporarily violate their GATT obligations to the degree and time necessary to protect a domestic industry from serious injury. Countries taking such actions, however, must consult with affected contracting parties to determine appropriate compensation for the violation of GATT rights, or be subject to retaliatory trade actions.
Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 requires the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate complaints filed by domestic industries or workers claiming that they are injured or threatened by rapidly rising imports.
Section 203 of the Act provides that if the ensuing investigation establishes that the complaint is valid, relief may be granted in the form of adjustment assistance, which may be training, technical, and financial assistance, or temporary import restrictions in the form of tariffs, quotas, tariff rate quotas, and/or orderly marketing agreements. Import restrictions imposed under the escape clause authority are limited in duration. They may last no longer than five years but can be extended by the President for a three-year period.

Escrow Account.
An escrow account is a special bank account into which earnings from sales (e.g., convertible currency proceeds from exports) are accumulated. These revenues are set aside for subsequent acquisition of goods and services from a foreign supplier. The escrowed money, usually interest-bearing, is disbursed by the bank to the foreign supplier under payment terms and against documents specified in the supplier's sale contract..

ETC
See Export trading company.

Eurocurrency.
A deposit in a bank outside the depositor's country of origin. Most deposits are U.S. dollar deposits, although nearly all major Western currencies are represented.

Eurodollars.
Eurodollars are deposits of U.S. dollars in banks or other financial institutions which are located outside the borders of the United States. In every other way, Eurodollars are identical to any other U.S. dollars. These same dollars are also called offshore dollars, or depending where the money is on deposit, Asian dollars. The use of "Euro" in connection with dollars reflects the beginnings of holding deposits offshore. Likewise, a Eurocurrency (or external currency) is the deposit of one nation's currency in another country. A Eurobond is a bond which is denominated in a currency and traded in a market outside of the issuing country.

Euroloans.
Loans of dollar-denominated deposits in banks outside the U.S. and of other deposits in banks outside the depositor's country of origin.

Euromarkets.
A general term for the Eurobond and Euroloans markets.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The EBRD provides assistance through direct loans. The loans are designed to facilitate the development of market-oriented economies and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiatives. The EBRD's charter mandates that at least 60 percent of EBRD lending contribute to privatization of state-owned enterprises. The remaining 40 percent may fund public infrastructure or environmental projects that promote private sector development, as well as state-owned enterprises that operate in a competitive fashion. EBRD was established in May 1990 and began financing operations in June 1991. EBRD headquarters are in London, England.

European Central Bank
The ECB, as envisioned by the Treaty of Maastricht, would be created to oversee performance of economic policy and exchange rate policy tasks conferred on the European System of Central Banks. The ECB would have the exclusive right to issue bank-notes within the European Community. The national central banks would be the sole subscribers to and holders of the capital of the ECB. The funding formula for the ECB would be based both on a Member State's population and on its gross domestic product. The ECB will form, together with the national central banks, the European System of Central Banks. See: Maastricht Treaty.

European Commission
One of the five major institutions of the European Community, the Commission is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Treaty of Rome and Community rules and obligations; submission of proposals to the Council of Ministers; execution of the Council's decisions; reconciliation of disagreements among Council members; administration of EC policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and coal and steel policies; taking necessary legal action against firms or member governments; and representing the Community in trade negotiations with non-member countries.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, CENELEC, is a non-profit-making international organization under Belgian law. CENELEC seeks to harmonize electrotechnical standards published by the national organizations and to remove technical barriers to trade that may be caused by differences in standards. CENELEC members include: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Standardization
The European Committee for Standardization, or CEN (from Comit‚ Europeen de Normalisation), is an association of the national standards organizations of 18 countries of the European Economic Communities (EEC) and of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). CEN membership is open to the national standards organization of any European country which is, or is capable of becoming, a member of the EEC or EFTA. CEN develops voluntary standards in building, machine tools, information technology, and in all sectors excluding the electrical ones covered by CENELEC. CEN is involved in accreditation of laboratories and certification bodies as well as quality assurance.

European Community
A regional organization created in 1958 providing for gradual elimination of intraregional customs duties and other trade barriers, applying a common external tariff against other countries, and providing for gradual adoption of other integrating measures, including a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and guarantees of free movement of labor and capital.
The original 6 members were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom became members in 1973; Greece acceded in 1981; Spain and Portugal in 1986.
The term European Community (EC) refers to three separate regional organizations which operate under separate treaties:
- European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), established in 1952
- European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), established in 1958, and
- European Economic Community (EEC), established in 1958.
Since 1967, the European Community have been served by four common institutions -- the EC Commission, the EC Council, the European Parliament, and the Court of Justice of the European Community. The present 12 member states of the EC are also members of the ECSC and Euratom. While the expression "European Community" (or "EC") was meant to refer to the three Communities, frequent use of the expression "European Community" (or "EC") has become common as a reference to the European Economic Community (EEC). Prior to November 1, 1993 (the date on which the Maastricht Treaty on European Union entered into force), the acronym "EC" was used as a reference to "European Community" and "European Communities." Part I, Article I of the Maastricht Treaty on European Union formalized "EC" as a reference to "European Community." The Treaty also introduced the term "European Union" as a broader legal entity than the European Community.

European Cooperation for the Long-term in Defense
EUCLID is a coordinated defense R&D initiative which was approved in a June 1989 meeting of the Independent European Program Group (IEPG). EUCLID was designed to overcome deficiencies in European defense R&D spending, minimize individual nation's duplicative efforts, improve planning, and overcome legal and administrative obstacles. EUCLID is divided into 11 technological categories: (a) modern radar technology, (b) microelectronics, (c) composite structures, (d) modular avionics, (e) electric gun, (f) artificial intelligence, (g) signature manipulation, (h) opto-electronic devices, (i) satellite surveillance technologies (including verification), (j) underwater acoustics, and (k) "human factors," including technology for training and simulation. Each of the 11 categories is assigned a lead coordinating nation.

European Court of Justice
The ECJ, located in Luxembourg, was established in 1958 to support interpretation and application of European Community law. The Court has jurisdiction to settle actions brought by: (a) the Commission against member states for failing to implement EC legislation, (b) the member states against EC institutions, referrals for interpreations from national courts where a question of EC law is at issue, and individuals under a provision of EC law.

European Currency Unit (ECU).
The ecu is a "basket" of specified amounts of each E.C. currency. Amounts were determined according to the economic size of EC members, all of whose currencies participate in the ecu basket. In the European Monetary System (EMS), the ecu is used as a basis for setting central rates in the exchange rate mechanism, as an accounting unit, and as a reserve instrument and means of settlement among EMS central banks. 
Under provisions of the Maastricht Treaty, the ecu is scheduled to be adopted as the single European currency in Stage III of European Monetary Union (by 1999 at the latest). The composition of the basket comprising the ecu was frozen on November 1, 1993 in accordance with a provision of the Maastricht Treaty which entered into force also on November 1. See: Maastricht Treaty.

European Development Fund
The EDF is the principal means by which the European Economic Community provides aid, concessionary finance, and technical assistance to developing countries. The Fund was originally established in 1958 to grant financial aid to dependencies of the six nations which founded the EEC.

European Economic Area
The EEA, which became effective in January 1994, consists of Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the 12 member nations of the European Union. The EEA, encompassing an area inhabited by 370 million people, allows for the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital throughout all 17 countries. It also opens cooperation possibilities in many areas, including research and development, environment, promotion of tourism, social, and consumer policy.
Following the negative result of the Swiss referendum in December 1992, the remaining six countries of the European Free Trade Association (Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Sweden) signed an Adjusting Protocol in March 1993 with the intent to proceed without Switzerland. The Adjusting Protocol contains provisions which allow Switzerland to participate in the EEA at a later stage if it so wishes. Liechtenstein will remain a Contracting Party to the European Economic Area Agreement, but it will not be part of the EEA until the EEA Council decides that the accord's good functioning will not be impaired. Liechtenstein's status in the EEA accord was reviewed following Switzerland's negative vote on the EEA in a December 1992 referendum. In particular, Liechtenstein's customs union with Switzerland requires renegotiation.
Significant differences exist between the EEA and full membership in the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEA is a free trade area, not a customs union. Border controls between the EEC and EFTA, while relaxed, are expected to continue. EFTA will not adopt the EEC's Common Customs Tariff nor participate in the Common Commercial Policy or Common Agricultural Policy. EFTA nations will continue to set their own tariffs for third countries subject to GATT and OECD agreements. Further change is anticipated with Austria, Finland, Norway, and Sweden expected to join the European Economic Community by January 1995 or shortly afterwards. See: European Economic Community European Free Trade Association European Union.

European Free Trade Association
EFTA is a regional organization established in December 1959 by the Stockholm Convention as an alternative to the Common Market. EFTA was designed to provide a free trade area for industrial products among member countries. In contrast with the EC, EFTA does not have a common external tariff and nor a common agricultural trade policy. Original EFTA members included the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland. The UK, Denmark, and Portugal left the Association when they joined the EC. EFTA currently has seven members: Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland -- Austria and Sweden have applied for EC membership. Association headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

European Investment Bank
The Luxembourg-based EIB, established in 1957, is an independent public institution set up the Treaty of Rome to contribute to balanced and steady development in the European Community. The EIB provides loans and guarantees to companies and public institutions to finance regional development, structural development, and achieve cross-border objectives. The EIB has emphasized regional development and energy, with Italy, Greece, and Ireland receiving major support.

European Monetary and Cooperation Fund
The EMCF, originally created in 1973, was revised and linked with the European Monetary System in 1979. While intended to support the European Currency Unit and support a reserve system of central banks, the Fund has been used to keep account of short-term borrowings and support currencies through intervention in foreign exchange markets at the request of member states. The Fund uses the Bank for International Settlements as its agent.

European Monetary Institute
Under provisions of the Maastricht Treaty, the EMI will manage the national currency reserves of EC central banks and encourage international acceptance of the European Currency Unit (ECU). The EMI is also intended to strengthen coordination of monetary policies among European Community member states and to study and develop the infrastructure and procedures required for the conduct of single monetary policy. The EMI will be established on January 1, 1994. See: Maastricht Treaty.

European Monetary System
The EMS was created in 1979 to support monetary stability, move Europe toward closer economic integration, and avoid disruptions in trade resulting from fluctuations in currency exchange rates. EMS members deposit gold and dollar reserves with the European Monetary Cooperation Fund (EMCF) in exchange for the issuance of European currency units (ecu). The EMS has three main features: the ecu, an exchange rate and intervention mechanism, and credit mechanisms to support member countries. All EC members except Greece and the United Kingdom participate in the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS.

European Norm
The "EN" mark is a designation of a stnadards directive issued by CEN (Comit‚ Europ‚en de Normalisation) or CENELEC (Comit‚ Europ‚en de Normalisation Electrotechnique). Notations regarding En generally don't appear on the product.

European Organization for Testing and Certification
The EOTC promotes mutual recognition of tests, test and certification procedures, and quality systems within the European private sector for product areas or characteristics not covered by EC legislative requirements. The Organization was created in April 1990 by the European Community Commission under a memorandum of agreement with CEN/CENELEC and the European Free Trade Association countries. EOTC headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.

European Patent Convention
The European Patent Convention, EPC, is an agreement between European nations to centralize and standardize patent law and procedure. The EPC, which took effect in 1977, established a single "European patent" through application to the European Patent Office in Munich. Once granted, the patent matures into a bundle of individual patents -- one in each member country designated by the patent applicant. Patent applicants must indicate the countries to which they wish to have pante protection.

European Patent Office
The EPO (German: Europ„eisches Patentamt; French: Office Europ‚en de Brevets) promotes easier, cheaper, and more reliable patent protection by establishing a single procedure for granting patents on the basis of a single European patent law. Standards are available in English from the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Office was established in October, 1973; its headquarters are in Munich, Germany. EPO membership is not open to the U.S., but close relations are maintained through the Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office.

European Research Coordination Agency
The European Research Coordination Agency, EUREKA, coordinates advanced technology projects being carried out by European industry. The Agency was created in 1985; headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium; membership includes the European Community countries, plus Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, and Turkey.

European Space Agency
The ESA designs and coordinates construction of satellite and launching systems. Members include: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

European System of Central Banks
The ESCB, as envisioned by the Treaty of Maastricht, would be created for the primary purpose of maintaining price stability within the European Community. The ESCB would be composed of the European Central Bank and of the central banks of the Members States. It would be independent of national governments and Community authorities.

European Technical Approval
An ETA is a favorable technical assessment of the fitness for use of a product for an intended use, based on the fulfillment of the essential requirements for building works for which the product is used, as provided for under the EC Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC). A European technical approval may be granted to products for which there is neither a harmonized European standard, nor a recognized national standard, nor a mandate for a harmonized standard; and to product which differ significantly from harmonized or recognized national standards. Such approval permits free circulation of the products within the member countries of the European Community and the European Free Trade Association.

European Telecommunications Standards Institute
ETSI (French: Institut Europ‚en des Normes des T‚l‚communication; German: Europ„isches Institut fr Telekummonikationsstandards) was established in March 1988 in response to the inability of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) to keep up with the schedule of work on common European standards and specifications agreed to in the 1984 Memorandum of Understanding between CEPT and the EC. ETSI has a contractual relationship with the EC to pursue standards development for telecommunications equipment and services, and it cooperates with other European standards bodies such as CEN/CENELEC. ETSI membership includes the telecommunications administrations that constitute the CEPT as well as manufacturers, service providers, and users.

European Trade Union Confederation
ETUC, founded in 1973, is the primary organization which speaks for European trade unions. ETUC consists of more than 30 organizations in 20 Western European countries and has over 40 million members. The Confederation's principal goal is to influence European policies affecting workers; it is active with the European Community, the Council of Europe, the European Free Trade Association, and the OECD Trade Union Advisory Committee. ETUC headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.

European Union (EU)
The EU is an umbrella reference to the European Community (EC) and to two European integration efforts introduce by the Maastricht Treaty: Common Foreign and Security Policy (including defense) and Justice and Home Affairs (principally cooperation between police and other authorities on crime, terrorism, and immigration issues). The term "European Union" was introduced in November 1993 (when the Maastricht Treaty on European Union entered into force). The term "European Community" (EC) continues to exist as a legal entity within the broader framework of the EU.

Evidence Account.
Umbrella agreement contracted between a Western supplier and a government agency in a developing country (e.g., an industrial ministry, or a provincial or state authority), which is designed to facilitate reciprocal trade flows. The agreement stipulates trade conditions between the Western firm, other independent firms designated by it, and commercial organizations under the jurisdiction of the developing country signatory. It also requires that the cumulative
payment turnovers for the traded goods, not payments of individual transactions, be balanced in an agreed-upon proportion within a specified period of time (typically 1 to 3 years). Trade flows are monitored and financial settlements occur through banks designated by the agreement's signatories.

Evidence of Origin
Information presented in the Exporter's Certificate of Origin (or Customs Form 353) that certifies that the goods described are eligible for a preferential rate of duty under a trade program.

EX (Point of Origin)
From. When used in pricing terms such as "ex factory" or "ex dock," it signifies that the price quoted applies only at the point of origin (in the two examples, at the seller's factory or a dock at the import point). In practice, this kind of quotation indicates that the seller agrees to place the goods at the disposal of the buyer at the specified place within a fixed period of time. From the point where the shipment begins movement, e.g., "Ex Factory" "Ex Mine" or "Ex Warehouse." See "Terms of Sale."

Excess-Currency Country
A country where the local currency supply available to the U.S. Government for conducting official business exceeds U.S. requirements for the 2 years following the year for which the designation is made.

Exchange Permit.
A government permit sometimes required by the importer's government to enable the import firm to convert its own country's currency into foreign currency with which to pay a seller in another country.

Exchange Rate.
The price of one currency expressed in terms of another, i.e., the number of units of one currency that may be exchanged for one unit of another currency. Influences on exchange rates include differences between interest rates and other asset yields between countries; investor expectations about future changes in a currency's value; investors' views on the overall quantity of dollar-denominated assets in circulation; arbitrage; and central bank exchange rate support.

Exchange Rate Classifications
Following are the different types of possible exchange rate regimes and how they work:
- Single Currency Peg: the country pegs to a major currency -- usually the U.S. dollar or the French franc -- with infrequent adjustment of the parity;
- Composite Currency Peg: the country pegs to a basket of currencies of major trading partners to make the pegged currency more stable than if a single currency peg were used. The weights assigned to the currencies in the basket may reflect the geographical distribution of trade, services, or capital flows. They may also be standardized, as in the Special Drawing Right (SDR) and the European Currency Unit (ECU);
- Limited Flexibility vis-a-vis a Single Currency: the value of the currency is maintained within certain margins of the peg;
- Limited Flexibility Through Cooperative Agreements: this applies to countries in the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System and is a cross between a peg of individual EMS currencies to each other and a float of all these currencies jointly vis-a-vis non-EMS currencies;
- Greater Flexibility Through Adjustment to an Indicator: the currency is adjusted more or less automatically to changes in selected indicators. A common indicator is the real effective exchange rate, which reflects inflation-adjusted changes in the currency vis-a-vis major trading partners;
- Greater Flexibility Through Managed Float: the central bank sets the rate but varies it frequently. Indicators for adjusting the rate include, for example, the balance of payments position, reserves, and parallel market developments. Adjustments are not automatic;
- Full Flexibility Through an Independent Float: rates are determined by market forces. Some industrial countries have floats -- except for the EMS countries -- but the number of developing countries in this category has been increasing.

Exchange Rate Mechanism
The ERM is a program through which member countries of the European Economic Community agree to maintain parity in exchange rates among their currencies. Limits are set on the amounts by which exchange rates may vary between any two currencies. If an exchange rate reaches the limit, the central banks of the two countries intervene in the market to ensure that the limit is not exceeded. The ERM was established in 1979 with agreement by Belgium, France, West Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Denmark to limit fluctuation in the bilateral exchange rates between their currencies to ñ2.25%. Italy, which was also a member, did not limit fluctuation to ñ25% until 1990. Spain joined in 1989, the UK in 1990, and Portugal in 1992, each agreeing to a wider band of 6% fluctuation in the bilateral exchange rates in the value of their currencies against other ERM members. Disruptions in September 1992 led to the withdrawal of Italy and the UK and to some parity realignments. The ERM has since resumed, with provisions allowing currency fluctuations of 15 percent.

Excise Tax.
A domestic tax assessed on the manufacture, sale, or use of a commodity within a country. Usually refundable if the product is exported.

Exclusive Economic Zone
The EEZ refers to the rights of coastal states to control the living and nonliving resources of the sea for 200 miles off their coasts while allowing freedom of navigation to other states beyond 12 miles, as agreed at the sixth session of the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The EEZ also gives the coastal states the responsibility for managing the conservation of all natural resources within the 200-mile limit.

EX-DOCK
From dock. Seller owns goods until they are unloaded on dock at port of discharge; selling price includes all costs so far plus cost of unloading from vessel.

EX-FACTORY
Seller owns goods until they are picked up at his factory; selling price is the cost of the goods.

Eximbank.
See Export-Import Bank of the U.S.

Exon-Florio
The "Exon-Florio" provision (section 721 of the Defense Production Act) provides the President with authority to investigate proposed or pending mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers by or with foreign persons to determine their effects on national security. The provision also grants the President authority to suspend or block those transactions that lead to control of a domestic firm by a foreign person if the President determines that the foreign purchaser might take actions that would threaten the national security. See: Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States Foreign Direct Investment in the United States.

Expedite
To accelerate delivery of goods.

Expiration Date.
The final date upon which the presentation of documents and drawing of drafts under a letter of credit may be made.

Export Administration Act
The EAA of 1979, as amended, authorizes the President to control exports of U.S. goods and technology to all foreign destinations, as necessary for the purpose of national security, foreign policy, and short supply. As the basic export administration statute, the EAA is the first big revision of export control law since enactment of the Export Control Act of 1949. The EAA is not a permanent legislation; it must be reauthorized -- usually every three years. There have been reauthorizations of the EAA in 1982, 1985 (the Export Administration Amendments Act), and 1988 (Omnibus Amendments of 1988) which have changed provisions of the basic Act. The Act was extended in 1993 until June 30, 1994.

Export Administration Regulations
The Export Administration Regulations provide specific instructions on the use and types of licenses required and the types of commodities and technical data under control.

Export Broker.
An individual or firm that brings together buyers and sellers for a fee but does not take part in actual sales transactions.

Export Commission House.
An organization which, for a commission, acts as a purchasing agent for a foreign buyer.

Export Credit Agency.
Public or semipublic agency that provides export credits and guarantees. Examples are the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Export Development Corporation (EDC) of Canada, the Export-Import Bank of Japan (JEXIM), and the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) of the United Kingdom.

Export Administration Review Board
The EARB is a cabinet-level export licensing dispute resolution group. The EARB was originally established in June 1970 under Executive Order 11533. Under Executive Order 12755 of March 1991, EARB membership includes Commerce (as chair), State, Defense, and Energy, and Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and, as non-voting members, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence Agency. The EARB is final review body to resolve differences among agency views on the granting of an export license. [Preceding EARB review are: (a) an interagency committee <known generally as the "Operating Committee"> and (b) the Advisory Committee on Export Policy.] National Security Directive 53 requires escalation of disputes regarding an export license to the Advisory Committee on Export Policy (ACEP) not later than 100 days from the filing date of the applicant's application. Any cases not resolved at the ACEP level must be escalated to the EARB within a specified number of days of the date of the ACEP meeting. Cases not resolved by the EARB must be escalated to the President for resolution.

Export Assistance Center
An Export Assistance Center (EAC) system was established by the state of Texas to link agencies, associations, and local governments in efforts to increase exports by assisting current and prospective exporters. The US&FCS has been considering using the Texas model to develop similar export assistance networks.

Export Broker
An individual or firm that brings together buyers and sellers for a fee but does not take part in actual sales transactions.

Export Contact List Service
The ECLS is an ITA service that provides mailing lists of prospective overseas customers from ITA's file of foreign firms (the Foreign Traders Index). The ECLS identifies manufacturers, distributors, retailers, service firms, and government agencies. A summary of the information on the company includes contact information, product and service interests, and other data.

Export Control Automated Support System
ECASS was implemented by the Commerce Department in 1985 to automate a paper-based system. The system currently provides: - electronic submission of application forms directly with the use of value-added network vendors; - optical character recognition of applications submitted on paper; - paperless workstations for all licensing officers to review the application, route it to other officers, branches, or external agencies, and to enter their final action along with most riders and conditions; - automated audit of all licenses issued; and - real time management reporting on Licensing Officer workloads, average processing times, counts and times by license type, destination country, commodity code, and other data.

Export Control Classification Number
Every product has an export control classification number (formerly: Export Control Commodity Number) within the Commerce Control List. Each ECCN consists of five characters that identify the category, product group, type of control, and country group level of control.

Export Credit Enhanced Leverage
The export credit enhanced leverage, EXCEL, program was developed in 1990 by the World Bank in conjunction with a working group of the International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (the Berne Union). The objective of EXCEL is to provide export credits at consensus rates for private sector borrowers in highly indebted countries, which would previously have been too great a risk for most agencies to cover.

Export Credit Guarantee Department
The ECGD of the Department of Industry and Trade is the primary source of official British export credit. The ECGD helps exporters by providing: (a) insurance against the risk of not being paid for exports and (b) guarantees to banks for exporters of capital goods, under which finance can be obtained for export business, often at a favorable rate of interest. Subject to Parliamentary approval, ECDG's short-term underwriting division, the Insurance Service Group, is to be privatized. The medium and long-term underwriting group is introducing a new system for assessing premiums which will more realistically reflect the risk involved. The Department was originally established in 1919; headquarters are in London, England.

Export Declaration.
See Shipper's export declaration.

Export Development Corporation
EDC is Canada's official export credit agency, responsible for providing export credit insurance, loans, guarantees, and other financial services to promote Canadian export trade.

Export Development Office
Export Development Offices (EDOs) in seven cities (Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Milan, London, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo) provide services to U.S. exporters, including market research to identify specific marketing opportunities and products with the greatest sales potential; and to organize export promotion events. EDOs are staffed by U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service officers. When not in use for trade exhibitions, EDOs with exhibit and conference facilities are made available to individual firms or associations.

Export Disincentives
Export disincentives are policies which may serve to deter U.S. exports, such as sanctions, export controls, and domestic and regulatory policies with a coincidental impact of handicapping U.S. competitiveness.

Export Enhancement Act of 1992
The Export Enhancement Act of 1992 required the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to issue by September 30, 1993, and annually thereafter, a report containing "a governmentwide strategic plan for Federal trade promotion efforts" and describing its implementation. The legislation requires the TPCC to establish in the strategic plan priorities for federal trade promotion and explain the rationale for these priorities. The act also requires the TPCC to include in the plan a strategy for bringing federal trade promotion activities into line with the new priorities and for improving their coordination. The TPCC is also required to propose in the plan a means for eliminating overlap among federal trade promotion activities and increasing cooperation between state and federal trade promotion efforts. The act requires that the TPCC include in the strategic plan a proposal to the President for an annual unified budget for federal trade promotion activities. This budget is to: (a) reflect the new priorities and improved interagency coordination and (b) eliminate funding for areas of overlap and duplication among federal agencies.

Export Enhancement Program
The EEP, one of four export subsidy programs operated by the Department of Agriculture, is intended to enhance U.S. trade policy strategies and objectives and to expand U.S. agricultural exports. Under the EEP, the Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation provides bonuses to U.S. exporters to enable them to be price competitive and thereby sell U.S. agricultural products in targeted overseas markets in which competitor countries are making subsidized sales. EEP-eligible commodities have included: wheat, wheat flour, rice, frozen poultry, barley, barley malt, table eggs, feed grains and vegetable oil.

Export-Import Bank of Japan
JEXIM is Japan's official provider of export credits. About 10 percent of JEXIM's business is providing export credits. The bank's main role is to disburse about half the funds available under the trade surplus recycling program (the Nakasone facility).

Export-Import Bank of the U.S.
Eximbank was chartered in 1934 as an independent agency to finance the export of U.S. goods and services. Eximbank offers four major export finance support programs: loans, guarantees, working capital guarantees, and insurance. Eximbank undertakes some of the risk associated with financing the production and sale of American-made goods; provides financing to overseas customers for American goods when lenders are not prepared to finance the transactions; and enhances a U.S. exporter's ability to match foreign government subsidies by helping lenders meet lower rates, or by giving financing incentives directly to foreign buyers. Eximbank's information hotline number is 1-800-424-5201.

Export Information System
The EIS is a classified automated system for export licensing operations maintained by the Department of Energy.

Export Legal Assistance Network
The Export Legal Assistance Network, ELAN, sponsored by SBA, is a nationwide group of attorneys with experience in international trade who provide free initial consultations to small businesses on export-related matters. Telephone: 202-778-3080.

Export License.
A government document (also known as an "Individual Validated License") authorizing exports of specific goods in specific quantities to a particular destination. This document may be required in some countries for most or all exports and in import.

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