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Glossary and Acronyms - from G to H


A  An   B  C  Con  D  E  F G  H  I J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  Sp  T  U  VWXYZ


G-7
See Group of Seven.

Gambia River Basin Development Organization
The Organization (French: Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Gambie, OMVG) promotes the construction of dams for hydroelectric and irrigation purposes. The organization was established in June 1978; headquarters are in Dakar, Senegal. Members include: the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal.

Gateway

In the context of travel activities, gateway refers to a major airport or seaport. Internationally, gateway can also mean the port where customs clearance takes place.

GATS
See General Agreement on Trade in Services.

GATT
See General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. A multilateral treaty intended to help reduce trade barriers between signatory countries and to promote trade through tariff concessions.

GATT Panel

A panel of neutral representatives that may be established by the GATT Secretariat under the dispute settlement provisions of the GATT to review the facts of a dispute and render findings of GATT law and recommend action.

GCC-5

The five countries of the GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which lie in the Arabian Gulf region.

G.D.P.
See Gross Domestic Product.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The GATT is a binding contract among over 100 governments. GATT was established in 1947 as an interim measure pending the establishment of the International Trade Organization, under the Havana Charter. The International Trade Organization (ITO) was never ratified by Congress. Operating in the absence of an explicit international organization, GATT has provided the legal framework for international trade with its primary mission being the reduction of trade barriers. Headquarters offices are in Geneva, Switzerland.

General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
This agreement, a part of the Uruguay Round, is designed to promote more open laws and regulations, provide national treatment to service providers, set up dispute settlement and enforcement procedures, and provide for progressive liberalization through future trade round.

General Arrangements to Borrow

The GAB, established in 1962 and amended several times, is an agreement under which the International Monetary Fund may borrow monies from major industrial nations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, and Switzerland). The GAB were originally designed to enable the participants to strengthen the Fund by lending to it specified amounts of their currencies. These loans would be made when supplementary resources were needed to help finance purchases by GAB participants in circumstances where such financing would forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system. The GAB were amended to include an associated agreement with Saudi Arabia and to permit the Fund to use the arrangements to finance transactions with nonparticipants under certain conditions on purchases involving upper credit tranche conditionality

General Average (G.A.)
Ancient principle of equity in which all parties in a sea adventure (ship, cargo, and freight) proportionately share losses resulting from a voluntary and successful sacrifice of part of the ship or cargo to save the whole adventure from an impending peril, or extraordinary expenses necessarily incurred for the joint benefit of ship and cargo.

General Average Security.
Documents the cargo owner presents to the General Average Adjuster to replace the vessel owner's maritime lien on cargo for its share of General Average and to obtain release of the goods by the Steamship Company. G.A. Security consists of a G.A. Bond and either a cash deposit or an Underwriter's Guarantee.

General Exception

CoCom controls exports at three levels, depending on the item and the proposed destination. At the highest or "general exception" level, unanimous approval by CoCom members is necessary.

General Export License.
Any of various export licenses covering export commodities for which Individually validated export licenses are not required. No formal application or written authorization is needed to ship exports under a general export license

General Imports

"General Imports" measure the total physical arrivals of merchandise from foreign countries, whether such merchandise enters consumption channels immediately or is entered into bonded warehouses or Foreign Trade Zones under Customs custody.

General License

These are licenses, authorized by the Bureau of Export Administration, that permit the export of goods and technology to specified countries without the need for a validated license. No prior written authorization is required and no individual validated license is issued. There are over twenty different types of general licenses, each represented by a symbol. The reason so many general licenses exist is to accommodate the various exporting situations that the Bureau of Export Administration has determined should not require an Individual Validated License.

General System of Preferences (GSP)
A system of tariff preferences designed to encourage the expansion of manufactured and semi-manufactured exports from developing countries. It is part of the tariff structures of numerous developed countries. Under the GSP program, the United States offers preferential duty-free entry on approximately 4,290 products fom 134 countries. The program covers a broad spectrum of agricultural, manufactured, and semimanufactured products, but stipulates that certain products may not be designated duty-free eligible due to the import sensitivity of U.S. domestic industries.

General Tariff

A tariff that applies to countries that do not enjoy either preferential or most-favored-nation tariff treatment. Where the general tariff rate differs from the most-favored-nation rate, the general tariff rate is usually the higher rate.

Generalized System of Preferences

The Generalized System of Preferences, GSP, is a framework under which developed countries give preferential tariff treatment to manufactured goods imported from certain developing countries. GSP is one element of a coordinated effort by the industrial trading nations to bring developing countries more fully into the international trading system. The U.S. GSP scheme is a system of nonreciprocal tariff preferences for the benefit of these countries. The U.S. conducts annual GSP reviews to consider petitions requesting modification of product coverage and/or country eligibility. United States GSP law requires that a beneficiary country's laws and practices relating to market access, intellectual property rights protection, investment, export practices, and workers rights be considered in all GSP decisions.

Gesellschaft mit beschr„nker Haftung

The GmbH (German, meaning: "limited liability company") is a corporation with separate legal personality. Its shareholders participate in the original share capital with their initial contributions but are not liable to the company's creditors. One person alone can form a limited liability company but legal entities may also be shareholders. The firm name of a limited liability company must either be derived from the purpose of its business or -- as in the case of limited partnerships -- from the name of the shareholder or a combination of both. It must always state "with limited liability" (mbH).

Global Export Manager

The Global Export Manager, GEM, is an electronic system for collecting and disseminating trade leads and business opportunities. GEM is maintained by the National Association of State Development Agencies (NASDA).

Global Quota

A global quota is a quota on the total imports of a product from all countries.

Gold Key Service

The Gold Key Service is an International Trade Administration service that provides customized information for U.S. firms visiting a country -- market orientation briefings, market research, introductions to potential business partners, an interpreter for meetings, assistance in developing a market strategy, and help in putting together a follow-up plan. Trade Specialists design an agenda of meetings, screen and select the right companies, arrange meetings with key people, and go with U.S. representatives to ensure that no unforeseen difficulties occur.

Goods
Anything purchased other than services or real property.

Government Procurement Policies and Practices

The term refers to a nontariff barrier to trade involving the discriminatory purchase by official government agencies of goods and services from domestic suppliers, despite their higher prices or inferior quality as compared with competitive goods that could be imported.

Grandfather Clause

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provision that allows the original contracting parties to exempt from general GATT obligations mandatory domestic legislation which is inconsistent with GATT provisions, but which existed before the GATT was signed. Newer members may also "grandfather" domestic legislation if that is agreed to in negotiating the terms of accession. (U.S. legislation also provides for "grandfather clauses.")

Gray Market Imports

This term refers to imports bearing a genuine trademark but imported by a party other than the trademark holder or authorized importer.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
A measure of the market value of all goods and services produced within the boundaries of a nation, regardless of asset ownership. Unlike gross national product, GDP excludes receipts from that nation's business operations in foreign countries, as well as the share of reinvested earnings in foreign affiliates of domestic corporations.


Gross National Product

A measure of the market value of goods and services produced by the labor and property of a nation. Includes receipts from that nation's business operation in foreign countries, as well as the share of reinvested earnings in foreign affiliates of domestic corporations.

Gross Weight.
The full weight of a shipment, including goods and packaging. Compare Tare weight.

Group of ...
        Five
Similar to the Group of Seven (G-7), with the exception of Canada and Italy. Seven This term refers to seven major economic powers (Canada. France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States) whose finance ministers seek to promote balanced economic growth and stability among exchange rates.

       Ten
Under the International Monetary Fund's General Agreements to Borrow (GAB), established in 1962, 10 of the wealthiest industrial members of the IMF "stand ready to lend their currencies to the IMF up to specified amounts when supplementary resources are needed." The finance ministers of these countries comprise the Group of 10 (also called the Paris Club). Members include: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Though numbering 11 with the addition of Switzerland in 1984, the numerical name persists.

        Eleven
The G-11 (also known as the Cartagena Group) was established in 1984 and comprises the largest debtor nations in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

       Fifteen
The G-15, established in 1990, consists of relatively prosperous or large developing countries. The G-15 discusses the benefits of mutual cooperation in improving their international economic positions. Members include: Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia (a very active member), Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Senegal, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe.

      Twenty-four
A grouping of finance ministers from 24 developing country members of the International Monetary Fund. The Group, representing eight countries from each of the African, Asian, and Latin American country groupings in the Group of 77, was formed in January 1972 to counterbalance the influence of the Group of 10.

      Seventy-Seven
A grouping of developing countries which received its name in connection with 77 countries issuing a joint statement in Geneva, Switzerland in 1964. The G-77's primary focus is serving as a caucus for articulating members' collective interests primarily in areas of promoting economic cooperation among developing countries and in negotiations on economic matters with developing countries. G-77 membership has increased since 1964 to over 125 countries.


Groupement d'Interet Economique

Groupement d'interet ‚conomique (French: "economic interest grouping") is a joint venture which has features of both a partnership and a corporation. The GIE is used by enterprises that wish to set up a joint activity on a trial basis or to cooperate, but not to merge. The GIE must be an extension of some activity of its members, frequently marketing, research, and management. Airbus Industrie is an example of a GIE.

GSP
See under the Generalized System of Preferences.

Guaranteed Credits.
Credits that are insured under export insurance programs of government and government-supported agencies.

Guaranteed Freight.
Freight payable whether the goods are delivered or not, provided the failure to deliver the goods resulted from causes beyond the carrier's control.

Gulf Cooperation Council

The GCC, established in May 1981, seeks to strengthen cooperation (in areas such as agriculture, industry, investment, security, and trade) among its six members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Quatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The GCC, created in response to the outbreach of the Iran-Iraq war, established the Gulf Standards Organization in November 1982 and the Gulf Investment Corporation in 1984. The presidency of the GCC rotates yearly among members. Council headquarters are in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 

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