Costs

A trade credit policy does not insure your sales. It insures a limit per buyer, at a set percentage, after a set waiting period. Those three numbers, and two deadlines you cannot miss, decide what the claim is worth.

Factoring buys an invoice; forfaiting buys an avalised note. That difference decides what comes back to you when the buyer disputes the goods: a trade receivable stays exposed to the dispute, an abstract instrument does not.

An on-demand guarantee does not protect your performance — it protects the other side's. The bank pays against a conforming demand without reading your contract, your credit line is blocked at face value, and the fee runs until someone signs a release.

A service contract should never be judged on the rate. It guarantees a price, not a slot — and its real pivot is the volume commitment, not the headline number. What the document binds on each side, the third option most importers never price, and the clauses that move more money than the rate negotiation.

FOB, CIF or EXW: three Incoterms, three prices, three duty bases. Who pays the freight, where risk transfers, and which value customs uses (CIF in the UK and India, FOB in the US). Cost-split table and three worked examples.

A documentary letter of credit (L/C) protects both buyer and seller on a first deal. Step-by-step mechanics, real cost structure (issuance, confirmation, discrepancies) under UCP 600, the document-mismatch trap, and worked examples for US, UK and India importers.

Line-by-line 2026 landed cost calculation for a Chinese-made EV imported into the US, UK and EU: FOB, Ro-Ro freight, lithium battery surcharge, MFN duty, Section 301 100% tariff (US) vs UK 10% only vs EU anti-dumping by manufacturer. Three worked examples.

A line-by-line decode of a 2026 customs clearance quote: broker fees, VAT/duty advance, demurrage, exam fees, ISF charges. Inclusion/exclusion table, worked examples for the US, UK and India, plus the checklist to demand before you sign.

Air or ocean: at what volume, transit time and cargo value does ocean become unbeatable? Break-even table for 2026 by corridor (China, India, Turkey to US/UK/EU), the actual formula, three worked examples and the four traps that distort 80% of decisions.

BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) and CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor) typically add 20-35% to an ocean freight quote yet remain the least readable lines on a carrier invoice. How they are computed in 2026, range tables by route, and three levers to negotiate them down.

Learn how to precisely calculate import duties for France: formulas, rates by product category, worked example, and FAQ.

Everything about landed cost: precise definition, detailed formula component by component, EXW/FOB/CIF/DDP comparison, and step-by-step example.