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Business Reading Room
Glossary and Acronyms - from R to
S
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
Rank in Person
The personal rank that a Foreign Service officer maintains even
when occupying a job of higher or lower rank.
Rate of Exchange.
The basis upon which money of one country will be exchanged for
that of another. Rates of exchange are established and quoted for foreign
currencies on the basis of the demand, supply, and stability of the individual currencies.
See "Exchange."
Real Dollars
See Constant Dollars.
Reciprocal Defense Procurement Memoranda of
Understanding
Reciprocal memoranda of understanding (MOU) are broad bilateral
umbrella MOUs that seek to reduce trade barriers on defense procurement. They usually call
for the waiver of "buy national" restrictions, customs and duties to allow the
contractors of the signatories to participate, on a competitive basis, in the defense
procurement of the other country. These agreements were designed in the late 1970's to
promote rationalization, standardization, and interoperability of defense equipment within
NATO. At that time, the MOU's were also intended to reduce the large defense trade
advantage the United States possessed over the European allies. The first agreements were
signed in 1978.
Reciprocity
The reduction of a country's import duties or other trade
restraints in return for comparable trade concessions from another country.
Reciprocity includes the lowering of customs duties
on imports in return for tariff concessions from other countries; the negotiated reduction
of a country's import duties or other trade restraints in return for similar concessions
from another country. Reciprocity is a traditional principle of GATT trade negotiations
that implies an approximate equality of concessions accorded and benefits received among
or between participants in a negotiation. In practice this principle applies only in
negotiations between developed countries. Because of the frequently wide disparity in
their economic capacities and potential, the relationship between developed and developing
countries is generally not one of equivalence. The concept of "relative
reciprocity" has emerged to characterize the practice by developed countries to seek
less than full reciprocity from developing countries in trade negotiations.
Reengineering.
Reengineering changes the way work processes are carried out, to
better serve the customer, client, or citizen. Reengineering is a strategy to redefine,
and perhaps reduce, the business processes of an organization. Workforce reduction may be
part of reengineering. Today, information technology is usually central to the
reengineering of business processes. Synonyms: process management, process redesign
Reexports
For export control purposes: the shipment of U.S. origin products from one foreign
destination to another. For statistical reporting purposes: exports of foreign-origin
merchandise which have previously entered the United States for consumption or into
Customs bonded warehouses for U.S. Foreign Trade Zones.
Register.
A company is normally required to maintain records of the members
(shareholders), directors and officers and secretary of the company. These records are
often referred to as a register and may or may not be open to inspection by the public,
dependent on the laws of the country in which the company is incorporated.
Registered Office.
The official address of the company to which legal documents can be
sent. Often it is a requirement under company law that the registered office is within the
country in which the company is incorporated.
Remitting Bank.
The bank that sends the draft to the overseas bank for collection.
Renminbi (RMB)
China's currency. The RMB is not convertible into foreign currency,
and is used for internal commerce, but not in the purchase of imported goods. See also FEC
(Foreign Exchange Certificate) which is a part of a two tiered china's
currency system.
Request/Offer
A negotiating approach whereby requests are submitted by a country
to a trading partner identifying the concessions another seeks through negotiations.
Compensating offers are similarly tabled and negotiated by delegates of the countries involved.
Requirement Contract
A purchase agreement for goods, equipment or services, the quantity
or amount of which is based upon the actual needs or requirement of the agency.
Requisition Time Schedule (RTS)
A schedule issued by the State Purchasing Bureau which designates
the dates that requisition for various categories of purchase will be required during the
calendar year.
Reserve Tranche
Member countries of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have a
reserve tranche position to the extent that their quotas exceed the IMF's holdings of its
currency in the General Resources Account, excluding holdings arising out of purchases
made by the member under all policies on the use of the IMF's general resources. A member
may purchase up to the full amount of its reserve tranche at any time, subject only to the
requirement of balance of payments need. A reserve tranche position does not constitute a
use of IMF credit and is not subject to charges or to an expectation or obligation to
repurchase.
See: International Monetary Fund.
Residence.
or Domicile. These are complex concepts regarding where a company
or individual are considered to be located for the purposes of taxation, immigration and
the application of law. 'Migration of Domicile' refers to the ability to move (a company)
from one jurisdiction (country) to another.
Residual Restrictions
Quantitative restrictions that have been maintained by governments
before they became contracting parties to GATT and, hence, permissible under the GATT
"grandfather clause." Most of the residual restrictions still in effect are
maintained by developed countries against the imports of agricultural products.
Restrictive Business Practices
Actions in the private sector, such as collusion among the largest
international suppliers, designed to restrict competition so as to keep prices relatively
high.
Restrictive Specification
Specifications that unnecessarily limit competition.
Retaliation
Action taken by a country whose exports are adversely affected by
the raising of tariffs or other trade restricting measures by another country. The GATT
permits an adversely affected contracting party (CP) to impose limited restraints on
imports from another CP that has raised its trade barriers (after consultations with
countries whose trade might be affected). In theory, the volume of trade affected by such
retaliatory measures should approximate the value of trade affected by the precipitating
change in import protection.
Rethinking.
Rethinking is both broader and more fundamental than rightsizing.
Rethinking strategically identifies and refocuses the core mission. Rethinking asks, for
example: Why do we exist at all? What is our mission? Is it still the right mission? Is it
still worth doing? Rethinking also asks: Assuming we should still exist, how should we go
about our mission? What are our performance capacities? What redesign is relevant to the
core mission? Rethinking is necessary and appropriate in periods of the greatest change.
Antonym: repair
Returned Without Action
For export control purposes: the return of a license application
without action is used when the application is incomplete, additional information is
required, or the product is eligible for a General License.
Reverse Preferences
Tariff advantages once offered by developing countries to imports
from certain developed countries that granted them preferences. Reverse preferences
characterized trading arrangements between the European Community and some developing
countries prior to the advent of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the
signing of the Lom‚ Convention.
Revocable Letter of Credit
A letter of credit which can be cancelled or altered by the drawee (buyer) after
it has been issued by the drawee's bank.
Revocation of Antidumping Duty Order &
Termination of Suspended Investigation
An antidumping duty order may be revoked or a suspended
investigation may be terminated upon application from a party to the proceeding.
Ordinarily the application is considered only if there have been no sales at less than
fair value for at least the two most recent years. However, the International Trade
Administration may on its own initiative revoke an antidumping duty order or terminate a
suspended investigation if there have not been sales at less than fair value for a period
of 3 years.
See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Rightsizing.
Organization structure, however, is more than the boxes on a chart;
more than the number of employees, positions, or jobs; and more than business
processes (e.g., it includes formal and informal patterns of interaction that link all
organizational elements toward mission accomplishment). Rightsizing can involve reducing
the workforce (downsizing) as well as eliminating functions, reducing expenses, and
redesigning systems and policies (e.g., to reduce costs or reduce organizational size). It
can also require upsizing (increasing the workforce) in certain areas. Rightsizing
eliminates unnecessary work and improves and prioritizes the most important work. It is a
multifaceted attempt to reshape the total organization. Some adherents also give
rightsizing a strong humanistic orientation. Synonyms: lean organization, revitalization,
renewal, reinvention, total organizational performance, organizational design
Rio Group
The Rio Group is a political forum of Latin American and Caribbean
countries which promotes regional political, economic and social cooperation. The Group is
comprised of 13 countries, including 11 permanent members: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,
Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela and two rotating
members which representing the Central American countries and the Caribbean nations.
Rollback
Rollback refers to an agreement among Uruguay Round participants to
dismantle all trade-restrictive or distorting measures that are inconsistent with the
provisions of the GATT. Measures subject to rollback would be phased out or brought into
conformity within an agreed timeframe, no later than by the formal completion of the
negotiations. The rollback agreement is accompanied by a commitment to
"standstill" on existing trade-restrictive measures. Rollback is also used as a
reference to the imposition of quantitative restrictions at levels less than those
occurring in the present.
See: Standstill.
Rounds
Cycles of multilateral trade negotiations under GATT, culminating
in simultaneous agreements among participating countries to reduce tariff and non-tariff
trade barriers.
- 1st Round: 1947, Geneva (creation of the GATT)
- 2nd Round: 1949, Annecy, France (tariff reduction)
- 3rd Round: 1951, Torquay, England (accession & tariff
reduction)
- 4th Round: 1956, Geneva (accession and tariff reduction)
- 5th Round: 1960-62, Geneva ("Dillon" Round; revision of
GATT; addition of more countries)
- 6th Round: 1964-67, Geneva ("Kennedy" Round)
- 7th Round: 1973-79, Geneva ("Tokyo" Round)
- 8th Round: 1986-93, Geneva ("Uruguay" Round)
RTS
See Requisition Time Schedule.
Russian Project Finance Bank
The RPFB is a new financial institution set up with the assistance
of the European Community. The Bank is intended to develop efficient financial systems in
Russia capable of channeling foreign and domestic investment into priority areas by
providing medium and long-term financial and high quality investment banking advisory
services to businesses.
Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
RUIE promotes commerical links between Western firms and Soviet
defense firms. The Union, an independent agency created by the Russian Central government,
consists of hundreds of major entreprises and associations.
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