国际经贸英语实务 第08章

ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ

B: But still I’m afraid that in case of damage or pilferage, the insurance company might refuse to grant the indemnification on the grounds of improper packing. Z: You needn’t worry about it. The cardboard boxes are strong enough for sea voyage and extensively used for packing such articles in international trade. The insurance companies have no occasion to refuse to grant the indemnification on such grounds. B: Well, Mr. Zhang, if you could guarantee that, we’d be quite willing to accept cardboard boxes. Z: Oh, Mr. Brown, don’t you think you’d better take this up with your insurance company? The most we can do is to assure you that the packing will be seaworthy, but we cannot commit ourselves to anything beyond that. B: I’d like to know how you will pack the shipment of the silk blouses? Z: We usually use polythene wrappers as inner packing and cardboard boxes as outer packing. That is, we pack each piece of silk blouse in a polythene wrapper, and ten dozen to a cardboard box.



Still, there is another category of packing, called “neutral packing”. Neutral packing is frequently used in international trade to promote export sales. Neutral packing carries no labels at all either on the outer packing or inner packing that indicate country of origin, the manufacturer or the name of the commodity itself. As a matter of fact, even trade mark or brand is not to be found. However, there is another form of neutral packing by which the exporter may use a specified brand or trade mark as required by the importer for the goods exported. The whole idea of neutral packing is that this form of packing makes it possible for exporters to get around high customs duties or unreasonable import quota of the importing countries. Requirements for inner packing are increasingly high, with beautiful color, creative design and convenient handling as its chief concern. The design and the color should suit the customers’ tastes. Nice packing helps find a market.

2. Shipment In international trade, it is generally accepted that the contract is broken if the consignor (or exporter) does not dispatch the goods in accordance with the time and mode of delivery as agreed upon between the consignee (or the importer) and the consignor (or the exporter). Therefore, in negotiating the clause dealing with the transportation of goods in a sales contract, the elements of time, types of shipping service, freight, etc. should be under careful consideration.
Chapter 8 Packing and Shipment


8.1 Background Information
1. Packing First of all, the buyer is under certain conditions entitled to reject the goods if they are not packed in accordance with his instructions or with the provisions agreed upon. Secondly, packing should be designed to suit shipping requirements. Thirdly, packing should conform with the regulations in the country of destination. Packing can be divided into transport packing (usually known as outer packing) and sales packing (usually known as inner packing). Transport packing must be strong enough to protect the packed goods against such hazards as pilferage, rough handling, corrosion and crushing, etc. And it must also be as light and compact as possible to keep freight costs low. Sales packing is done mainly to push sales. It is now universally recognized as a decisive aid in selling household consumer goods.



8.2 Situational Conversation
Section 1: On Way of Packing
B=Brown; Z=Zhang B: Mr. Zhang, the negotiation is going on well. We have already agreed on prices, quantity, the terms of payment and the date of delivery. What shall we talk about this time?


Section 2: Persuading Sb. to Accept a Packing
B: But will cardboard boxes be strong enough for the long-distance ocean transportation? Z: Of course, they will. I would think corrugated cardboard boxes good enough for such lightweight articles as textiles. The boxes are comparatively light, and therefore easy to handle. They’ll not be stowed away with the heavy cargo. Besides, in order to make them strong enough to stand rough handling, we’ll reinforce the boxes with metal straps, and place the metal angles at each corner. B: Well, Mr. Zhang, I’d rather play safe. The cardboard boxes are easier to be cut open, and there is the risk of pilferage to be taken into account. Z: On the other hand, tampering with the cardboard boxes can be easier detected. That would prevent people from trying their hands on such packing. What’s more, our cardboard boxes are made of special materials, light, but strong.