ICCSL facilitates Incoterms 2020 Seminar by ICC expert on international trade

ICCSL will be hosting an International Trade Finance Seminar together with the launch of Incoterms 2020 by Bob Ronai on 25 October. The full-day workshop will be held at the Movenpick Hotel Colombo.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released Incoterms 2020, globally recognised trade terms for the sale of goods, providing certainty and clarity to business and traders everywhere. The Incoterms rules were first introduced by ICC in 1936 to establish commonly accepted definitions and rules related to the sale of goods between trading partners worldwide. Since then, ICC has periodically revised the Incoterms rules to reflect changes in the international trade system. More accessible and easier to use, Incoterms 2020 includes more detailed explanatory notes with enhanced graphics to illustrate the responsibilities of importers and exporters for each Incoterms rule.

Bob Ronai has the honour of being invited by the ICC to be a member of their Incoterms Drafting Group for the new Incoterms 2020. Bob is the co-author of 200 questions which the ICC Academy will use to examine potential trainers in the Incoterms 2020 rules. He is an active member of the International Chamber of Commerce (Australia)’s Banking Technique and Practices Committee and was involved in their contributing to the writing of the current L/C rules (UCP600) and the current International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP745). 

Bob was one of two delegates from ICC Australia to the ICC Banking Commission conferences in Beijing in October 2011, Lisbon April 2013, Vienna October 2013, Dubai April 2014, Singapore April 2015 and Jakarta April 2017. ICC Czech Republic asked him to follow this up with a conference in Prague. He then was a speaker at the 2015, 2017 and then 2018 Vienna conferences.  He is the manager of two large and still-growing groups on LinkedIn – Trade Finance (about 35,000 members) and Incoterms (about 19,000 members) – and contributes almost daily to these and other groups.  

Bob holds the Diploma in Export Management (1977) from the Australian Institute of Export (NSW) and is a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS) by The London Institute of Banking and Finance.

Participants will benefit by, learning about Incoterms 2020, the differences between each of the eleven rules, why the rules are divided into two groups and which group is suitable for container and air shipments. In addition, participants will gain knowledge on how to make a letter of credit compatible with the underlying contract, why sight and usance LCs should not require presentation of drafts, the point, if any, of consigning B/Ls to order of the issuing bank. The workshop will also include a discussion on recent ICC Banking Commission Opinions including relevant case studies. 

The direct target audience for this program are the companies which deal with trade finance products and are engaged in trade finance activities including exporter and importers. Furthermore, bank relationship managers and middle management involved in sales and the operational support of customers who use trade finance services of banks and other financial institutions will find it very useful. 

In addition, bank auditors, supervisors, product managers involved in trade finance projects would also find the seminar highly beneficial. Legal counsels and advisors, consultants would not be disappointed either. The benefits of the seminar will be immense to trade finance practitioners of all levels. 

Incoterms 2020 is available for purchase at the ICC Sri Lanka Secretariat. Please contact ICCSL Secretariat on 011 592 0067/011-2307841 or email on [email protected] to register for the seminar.