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Business Redaing Room
Glossary and Acronyms - from Sp
to T
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
Special American Business Internship Training Program
SABIT, originally the Soviet-American Business Internship Training
Program, is a cooperative program that brings business executives and scientists from the
former Soviet Union for three-to six-month internships with American companies. The
program teaches these managers and scientists how to operate in a market economy at the
same time that American businesses development market contacts once their interns return
home. Soviet business managers are referred by the Commerce Department's International
Trade Administration to sponsoring U.S. companies, which make the final selection of their
interns. The program matches U.S. corporate sponsors with Soviet business executives from
the same industries. The Independent States provide transportation; the companies provide
living expenses and training in management techniques (production, distribution,
marketing, accounting, wholesaling, and publishing).
Special and Differential Treatment
The principle, enunciated in the Tokyo Declaration, that the Tokyo
Round negotiations should seek to accord particular benefits to the exports of developing
countries, consistent with their trade, financial, and development needs. Among proposals
for special or differential treatment are reduction or elimination of tariffs applied to
exports of developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP),
expansion of product and country coverage of the GSP, accelerated implementation of tariff
cuts agreed to in the Tokyo Round for developing country exports, substantial reduction or
elimination of tariff escalation, special provisions for developing country exports in any
new codes of conduct covering nontariff measures, assurance that any new multilateral
safeguard system will contain special provisions for developing country exports, and the
principle that developed countries will expect less than full reciprocity for trade
concessions they grant developing countries.
Special Drawing Rights
SDRs are international reserve assets, created by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1970 and allocated to individual member nations. Within conditions
set by the IMF, SDRs can be used by a nation with a deficit in its balance of
international payments to settle debts with another nation or with the IMF. The value of
SDRs is computed as a weighted average of five currencies: deutsche mark, French franc,
Japanese yen, pound sterling, and U.S. dollar.
Specially Designated Nationals
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Department of the
Treasury, implements and enforces financial and trade sanctions. FAC has the authority to
include within the definition of the sanctioned government those individuals and entities
that FAC has determined are owned by, controlled by, or acting directly or indirectly on
behalf of the target government. Parties so identified are known as Specially Designated
Nationals or SDNs. In practice, an SDN is a target government body, representative,
intermediary, or front (whether overt or covert) that usually is located in a third
country and functions as an extension of the sanctioned government. An SDN may also be a
third-party company that otherwise becomes owned or controlled by the target government or
that operates on its behalf. No criminal linkage is necessary. Ownership by, control by,
acting on behalf of, or profiting from trade with the target government or country would
suffice to qualify a person for designation.
Special Policy of Insurance.
Document issued on behalf of the Underwriter stating the terms and
conditions of the marine insurance. Issued when evidence of insurance is required, as by
the bank issuing the Letter of Credit.
Special 301
The Special 301 statute requires the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) to review annually the condition of intellectual property protection
among U.S. trading partners. Submissions are accepted from industry after which the USTR,
weighing all relevant information, makes a determination as to whether a country presents
excessive barriers to trade with the United States by virtue of its inadequate protection
of intellectual property. If the USTR makes a positive determination, a country may be
named to the list of: (a) Priority Foreign Countries (the most egregious), (b) the
Priority Watch List, or (c) the Watch List. Special 301 (a variation of Section 301) was
created by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.
See: Section 301
Super 301.
Specification
A clear and complete descriptive statement covering the technical
point of any item ordered. A specification using a proprietary name or equal is
acceptable.
Spot Exchange.
The purchase or sale of foreign exchange for immediate delivery.
Spot Transaction
See: Forward Exchange Rate.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system
The system established by the U.S. government for defining
industries and classifying individual establishments by industry.
Standard International Trade Classification
The SITC was developed by the United Nations in 1950 and is used
solely by international organizations for reporting international trade. The SITC has been
revised several times; the current version is Revision 3.
Standards
As defined by the Multilateral Trade Negotiations "Agreement
on Technical Barriers to Trade" (Standards Code), a standard is a technical
specification contained in a document that lays down characteristics of a product such as
levels of quality, performance, safety, or dimensions. Standards may include, or deal
exclusively with, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking, or
labeling requirements as they apply to a product.
The GATT Standards Code, negotiated and accepted
during the Tokyo Round in the 1970s, is designed to eliminate the use of standards,
technical regulations, and conformity assessment (certification) procedures as unnecessary
barriers to trade. The Standards Code is administered by the GATT Secretariat in Geneva,
Switzerland. The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology is
responsible for several provisions of the Standards Code which relate to the establishment
of a U.S. inquiry point, a standards information center, and a technical office for
non-agricultural products.
Stand-By Arrangements
A stand-by arrangement, like an extended arrangement, assures a
member country of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will be able to make
purchases up to a specified amount from the IMF during a given period, as long as the
member has observed the performance criteria and other terms specified in the arrangement.
Stand-by arrangements extend up to three years.
See: International Monetary Fund.
Standstill
Standstill refers to a commitment of GATT contracting parties not
to impose new trade-restrictive measures during the Uruguay Round negotiations.
See: Rollback.
State Export Program Database
The SEPD is a trade lead system maintained by the National
Association of State Development Agencies (NASDA). The SEPD includes information on state
operated trade lead systems.
State Trading Enterprises
STEs are entities established by governments to import, export
and/or produce certain products. Examples include: government-operated import/export
monopolies and marketing boards or private companies that receive special or exclusive
privileges from their governments to engage in trading activities.
Statistical Office of the European Community
EUROSTAT provides European Economic Community-wide statistics on
economics, finance, foreign trade, services, transportation, industry, population, social
conditions, energy, agricultural, forestry, and other topics. Eurostat offices are located
in Luxembourg.
Steamship Conference.
A group of steamship operators that operate under mutually
agreed-upon freight rates.
Stock.
See Shares.
Straight Bill of Lading.
A non-negotiable bill of lading in which the goods are consigned
directly to a named consignee.
Strategic Level of Controls
Commodity groupings used for export control purposes.
See: Export Control Classification Number.
Structural Impediments Initiative
The SII was started in July 1989 to identify and solve structural
problems that restrict bringing two-way trade between the U.S. and Japan into better
balance.
Subcontractor production.
(also one of the means of implementing Offsets - see under Offsets)
Overseas production of a part or component of a U.S.-origin
article. The subcontract does not necessarily involve license of technical information and
is usually a direct commercial arrangement between the U.S. manufacturer and a foreign
producer.
Subrogation.
The operation by which the insurance company (on payment of a
claim) assumes all of the assured's rights to recovery from any third parties;
substitution of one creditor for another.
Subsidies
GATT does not directly define subsidies. The U.S. regards a subsidy
as a bounty or grant paid for the manufacture, production, or export of an article. Export
subsidies are contingent on exports; domestic subsidies are conferred on production
without reference to exports. While governments sometimes make outright payments to firms;
subsidies usually take a less direct form (R&D support, tax breaks, loans on
preferential terms, and provision of raw materials at below-market prices).
Summary Investigation
A 20-day investigation conducted by the International Trade
Administration immediately following filing of an antidumping petition to ascertain if the
petition contains sufficient information with respect to sales at "less than fair
value" and the injury or threat of material injury to a domestic industry caused by
the alleged sales at "less than fair value" to warrant the initiation of an
antidumping investigation.
See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Summit Conference
A summit conference is an international meeting at which heads of
government are the chief negotiators, major world powers are represented, and the meeting
serves substantive rather than ceremonial purposes. The term first came into use in
reference to the Geneva Big Four Conference of 1955.
Sunflowerseed Oil Assistance Program
SOAP, one of four export subsidy programs operated by the
Department of Agriculture, helps U.S. exporters meet prevailing world prices for
sunflowerseed oil in targeted markets. USDA pays cash to U.S. exporters as bonuses, making
up the difference between the higher U.S. cost of acquiring sunflowerseed oil and the
lower world price at which it is sold.
Supplier Credit.
Credits granted by a supplier, usually through commercial banks, to
a foreign buyer under deferred payment terms.
Supply Access
Assurances that importing countries will, in the future, have fair
and equitable access at reasonable prices to supplies of raw materials and other essential
imports. Such assurances should include explicit constraints against the use of the export
embargo as an instrument of foreign policy.
Support for East European Democracy
The SEED Act, signed into law in November 1989, contained 25
distinct actions to support structural adjustment, private sector development, trade and
investment, and educational, cultural, and scientific activities in Poland and Hungary.
Funding for most of the actions was provided by the Agency for International Development.
The SEED Act expired at the end of fiscal year 1990. Since then support has been provided
under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1991.
See: Foreign Assistance Act of 1991.
Surveyor.
A marine specialist who examines damaged property and determines
the cause, nature, and extent of damage and methods of repair and/or replacement. He is
not an adjuster, and all his actions are without prejudice to policy terms and conditions.
Suspension of Investigation
A decision to suspend an antidumping investigation if the exporters
who account for substantially all of the imported merchandise agree to stop exports to the
U.S. or agree to revise their prices promptly to eliminate any dumping margin. An
investigation may be suspended at any time before a final determination is made. No
agreement to suspend an investigation may be made unless effective monitoring of the
agreement is practicable and is determined to be in the public interest.
See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Suspension of Liquidation
If affirmative, the preliminary determination of dumping or
subsidization, or final determination after a negative preliminary determination, provides
for suspension of liquidation of all entries of merchandise subject to the determination
which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after the date of
the publication of the notice in the Federal Register. Customs is directed to require a
cash deposit, or the posting of a bond or other security, for each entry affected equal to
the estimated amount of the subsidy or the amount by which the fair value exceeds the U.S.
price. When an administrative review is completed, Customs is directed to collect the
final subsidy rate or amount by which the foreign market value exceeds the U.S. price, and
to require for each entry thereafter a cash deposit equal to the newly determined subsidy
rate or margin of dumping.
See: Tariff Act of 1930.
Swap Network
The swap network is a series of bilateral arrangements between the
Federal Reserve and fourteen foreign central banks and the Bank for International
Settlements providing standby reciprocal facilities for obtaining foreign currencies. The
facilities provide for the swap (simultaneous spot purchase and forward sale) of each
other's currency by the Federal Reserve and the respective foreign central bank. Swap
drawings typically have a three-month maturity, with an understanding that they may be
more or less automatically rolled over for another three months.
Swaps
Swaps take dozens of forms but often entail the exchange of one
type of asset or payment for another. Some of the more common forms are: cross-border;
currency; debt-for-charity; debt-for-commodity; debt-for-debt; debt-for-development;
debt-for-equity; debt-for-export; debt-for-local-currency; debt-for-nature; discount; dual
currency; interest rate; inward; premium; reverse; and vanilla. Minor variation in names
is common.
Currency swaps convert principal from the lender's
currency into the debtor's currency and receiving interest payments in the debtor's
currency. The swap, made to protect the principal from future changes in foreign exchange
rates, involves a forward exchange contract to recover the currency involved.
Debt swaps entail replacing the foreign liabilities
of a debtor country with ownership or rights of value. A debt-for-equity swap replaces
foreign liabilities with a stake in the debtor country's national enterprises; a
debt-for-export swap replaces foreign liabilities with an arrangement to receive proceeds
from the overseas sale of the debtor country's products or commodities; a debt-for-debt
swap replaces an existing foreign liability with a new commitment from the debtor country.
Interest rate swaps involve agreements on the means
for exchanging future cash flows. Single currency interest rate swaps concern exchanging
future cash flow in the same currency and offer a means for modifying the impact of future
changes in interest rates on a company's profitability. Cross currency interest rate swaps
concern exchanging future cash flows between one currency and another, traded either on a
fixed or floating rate, and offer a means for limited the risk of converting financial
interests between currencies.
Swaps also involve arrangements whereby different
sellers of similar commodities swap and deliver them to each other's customer if such
action saves transportation costs.
See: Derivatives.
Swedish International Development Authority
SIDA, an agency responsible to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
administers the greater portion of Swedish development cooperation. Swedish development
assistance is directed toward five goals: economic growth, economic and social equality,
economic and political independence, democratic development, and environmental quality.
About 50 percent of Sweden's development assistance is directed toward a limited number of
designated "program countries" in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and involves
negotiated efforts to integrate external assistance and long-term development strategies.
The remaining assistance is allocated to UN agencies, international development banks, and
about 90 countries. The Authority was established in 1965; headquarters are in Stockholm,
Sweden.
See: Swedish International Enterprise Development Corporation.
Swedish International Enterprise Development
Corporation SwedeCorp, a government funded under Sweden's aid program, supports enterprise
development through joint venture investments in developing countries and in Central and
Eastern Europe. The Corporation also encourages the transfer of industiral and commercial
knowledge from Sweden to third world countries and promotes exports from developing
countries to Sweden. The Corporation was formed in July 1991 based on a reorganization of
international industry assistance programs; headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden.
See: Swedish International Development Authority.
Swing.
Margin of credit allowed on a bilateral clearing account beyond
which all trade exchanges stop and cannot be resumed until the swing imbalance is reduced.
Switch Arrangements
A form of countertrade in which unused purchase rights under
government-to-government trade (clearing agreements) on unwanted goods received by a firm
in a countertrade transaction are sold at a discount to buyers for cash.
Switch Trading.
Trade activities connected with converting bilateral clearing
imbalances into convertible currencies through the sale of the clearing imbalance to
switch traders at discounted prices. The switch traders then reduce or eliminate the
imbalance through import/export transactions that they arrange. The term is also used to
denote nonclearing transactions involving triangular or multiple sales of different goods
by various brokers. By a series of trades at discounted prices, a primary exporter can
convert into hard currency revenues a soft currency payment or a countertraded product
hard to market.
System for Tracking Export License Applications
STELA is a BXA computer-generated voice unit that interfaces with
the BXA database: ECASS (Export Control Automated Support System). STELA enables a caller
to check on an export license by making a telephone call. 202-482-2752
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