Imports

Imports of merchandise include commodities of foreign origin as well as goods of domestic origin returned to the United States with no change in condition or after having been processed and/or assembled in other countries. For statistical purposes, imports are classified by type of transaction: — Merchandise entered for immediate consumption. (“duty free” merchandise and merchandise on which duty is paid on arrival); — Merchandise withdrawn for consumption from Customs bonded warehouses, and U.S. Foreign Trade Zones; — Merchandise entered into Customs bonded warehouses and U.S. Foreign Trade Zones from foreign countries.

Imports for Consumption

“Imports for Consumption” measure the total of merchandise that has physically cleared through U.S. Customs either entering consumption channels immediately or entering after withdrawal for consumption from bonded warehouses under Customs custody or from Foreign Trade Zones. Many countries use the term “special imports” to designate statistics compiled on this basis.

In-Bond System

The In-Bond System, a part of Customs’ Automated Commercial System, controls merchandise from the point of unloading at the port of entry or exportation. The system works with the input of departures (from the port of unlading), arrivals, and closures (accountability of arrivals).

Incoterms

Maintained by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), this codification of terms is used in foreign trade contracts to define which parties incur the costs and at what specific point the costs are incurred.

Independent European Program Group

The IEPG is an intergovernmental organization that is not formally part of NATO but whose membership includes all the BC members of the alliance, plus Norway and Turkey. Established in 1976, IEPG’ s objectives are to promote European cooperation in research, development, and production of defense equipment; improve transatlantic armaments cooperation; and maintain a healthy European defense industrial base.

Individual Validated License

Written approval by the U.S. Department of Commerce granting permission, which is valid for two (2) years, for the export of a specified quantity of products, or technical data to a single recipient. Individual validated licenses also are required under certain circumstances, as authorization for reexport of U.S. origin commodities to new destinations abroad.

Industrial List

The CoCom industrial list contains dual-use items, whose export is controlled for strategic reasons.

Industry Subsector Analysis

As used by the International Trade Administration, an industry subsector analysis is overseas market research for a given industry subsector (such as cardiology equipment for the medical equipment industry) that presents basic information about a foreign market such as market size, the competitive environment, primary end users, best prospects products, and market access information.

In-Flight Survey

The In-Flight Survey is administered to U.S. and foreign travelers departing the U.S., as a means of providing data on visitor characteristics, travel patterns and spending habits, and for supplying data on the U.S. international travel dollar accounts as well as to meet balance of payments estimation needs. The IPS covers about 70 percent of U.S. carriers and 35 percent of foreign carriers, who voluntarily choose to participate. Sample results are expanded to universe estimates to account for nonresponse of passengers on each sampled flight, for coverage of all flights on each major airline route, and for all international routes. The basis for the expansion is the number of passengers departing the United States, obtained from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Informed Compliance. See: Compliance Strategy.

Inherent Vice

An insurance term referring to any defect or other characteristic of a product which could result in damage of the product without external cause (for example, instability in a chemical that could cause it to explode spontaneously). Insurance policies may specifically exclude losses caused by inherent vice.

Initial Negotiating Right ~INR)

A right held by one GATT country to seek compensation for an impairment of a given bound tariff rate by another GATT country. INRs stem from past negotiating concessions and allow the INR holder to seek compensation for an impairment of tariff concessions regardless of its status as a supplier of the product in question.

Injury

In U.S. law, a finding by the International Trade Commission that imports are causing, or are likely to cause, harm to a U.S. industry. An injury determination is the basis for a Section 201 case. It is also a requirement in all antidumping and most countervailing duty cases, in conjunction with Commerce Department determinations on dumping subsidization.

Inland Bill of Lading

A bill of lading used in transporting goods overland to the exporter’s international carrier. Although a through bill of lading can sometimes be used, it is usually necessary to prepare both an inland bill of lading and an ocean bill of lading for export shipments.

Inspection Certification

Some purchasers and countries may require a certificate of inspection attesting to the specifications of the goods shipped, usually performed by a third party. Inspection certificates are often obtained from independent testing organizations.

Insurance Certificate

This certificate is used to assure the consignee that insurance is provided to cover loss of or damage to the cargo while in transit.

Integrated Carriers

Carriers that have both air and ground fleets; or other combinations, such as sea, rail, and truck. Since they usually handle thousands of small parcels an hour, they are less expensive and offer more diverse services than regular carriers.

Intellectual Property Rights

This is the ownership of the right to possess or otherwise use or dispose of products created by human ingenuity.

INTELSAT. See: International Communications Satellite Organization.

Interagency Group on Countertrade (IGC)

The IGC, established in December 1988 under Executive Order 12661, reviews policy and negotiates agreements with other countries on countertrade and offsets. The IGC operates at the Assistant Secretary level, with the Department of Commerce as chair. Membership includes 11 other agencies: Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Justice, Labor, State, Treasury, the Agency for International Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Office of Management and Budget.

Inter-American Development Bank

A regional financial institution established in 1959 to advance the economic and social development of 27 Latin American member countries. IADB headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

Intermediate Consignee

An intermediate consignee is the bank, forwarding agent, or other intermediary (if any) which acts in a foreign country as an agent for the exporter, the purchaser, or the ultimate consignee, for the purpose of effecting delivery of the export to the ultimate consignee.

International Air Transport Association (IATA)

The International Air Transport Association is a trade association serving airlines, passengers, shippers, travel agents, and governments. IATA headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition (IACC)

The IACC, founded in 1978, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The JACC seeks to advance intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on a worldwide basis by promoting laws, regulations, and directives designed to render theft of IPR unattractive and unprofitable.