DAF (Delivered At Frontier)	The exporter's price includes the cost of the merchandise and all shipping costs to the named point at the border.
Date Draft	A draft that matures in a specified number of days after the date it is issued, without regard to the date of acceptance. See Draft, Sight Draft, and Time Draft.
DDC (Destination Delivery Charges)	Unloading charges at destination port of a steamship line or NVOCC.
DDP	Delivered Duty Paid
DDU	Delivered Duty Unpaid
Dead Freight	Freight rate that is paid on empty space in the vessel when the charterer is responsible for the freight rate of a full cargo. It should be paid before sailing.
Deadweight Tonnage	This is the actual number of tons of cargo bunkers stores, etc. That can be put on board a ship to bring her down to her marks.
Deals	Lengths of timber between 5ft. and 30ft in length and between 2 inches and 9 inches thick.
Debenture	A certificate issued by a corporation that states the amount of a loan, the interest to be paid and the time for repayment. It is backed only by the corporation's reputation and good word, not by collateral.
Debt	Securities such as bonds, notes, mortgages and other forms of paper that indicate the intent to repay an amount owed.
Debt Swap	Transaction by which external debt, usually owed a commercial bank in a developed country, is swapped for other assets. Devalued debt paper of developing countries has been swapped among creditor banks wishing to consolidate their debt portfolios. Developing country debt has also been swapped for products exported from the debtor country, for equity investment in the debtor country, or for the promotion of socially useful goals in the debtor country—i.e., education, charity, nature conservation, and environmental protection.
Deck Cargo	Cargo carried outside rather than within the enclosed cargo spaces of a vessel.
Deck Log	Ships log recording general details concerning the running of the ship including accidents concerned with ship or cargo.
Declaration by Foreign Shipper	The U.S. Customs Service defines this term as a statement by the shipper in the foreign country attesting to certain facts. For example, articles shipped from the United States to an insular possession and then returned must be accompanied by a declaration by the shipper in the insular possession, indicating that, to the best of his or her knowledge, the articles were exported directly from the United States to the insular possession and remained there until the moment of their return to the United States. (see 19 CFR 4.60 and 4.61 on U.S. clearance of vessels bound for a foreign port or ports.)
Default	Failure to pay principal or interest on a financial obligation. It can also refer to a breach or nonperformance of the terms of a debt instrument.
Defeasible Interest	An insurable interest that ceases during the transit of goods.
Defense Trade Regulations	The Defense Trade Regulations (formerly known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, ITAR) are administered by the State Department to control the export of weapons and munitions.
Deferred Account	A system allowing the shipowner to pay his annual premium by installments.
Deferred Payment Credit	Type of letter of credit providing for payment some time after presentation of shipping documents by exporter.
Deflation	A decline in the general price level of goods and services that results in increased purchasing power of money. The opposite of inflation.
Delay	Even under All Risk coverage, damage due to delay is not recoverable. Most underwriters have inserted a "Delay Cause" in the Open Cargo Policy, which states specifically that damage caused by delay is not recoverable even if the delay was due to a peril insured against.
Delivered at Frontier	An exporter agrees to safely transport the goods to the "frontier," which is a point before the actual customs border of the importing country. Commonly used when goods are shipped by road or rail.
Delivered Duty Paid	The exporter has responsibility to not only deliver the goods, but also assumes any risk of damage, loss and the payment of any duty. While the term "Ex Works" signifies the seller's minimum obligation, the term "Delivered Duty Paid", when followed by words naming the buyer's premises, denotes the other extreme -- the seller's maximum obligation. The term "Delivered Duty Paid" may be used irrespective of the mode of transport. If the parties wish that the seller should clear the goods for import but that some of the cost payable upon the import of the goods should be excluded -- such as value added tax (VAT) and/or other similar taxes -- this should be made clear by adding words to this effect (e.g., "exclusive of VAT and/or taxes").
Delivery Instructions	Provides specific information to the inland carrier concerning the arrangement made by the forwarder to deliver the merchandise to the particular pier or steamship line. Not to be confused with Delivery Order which is used for import cargo.
Delivery Schedule	The required or agreed time or rate of delivery of goods or services purchased for a future period.
Delivery Verification Certificate	The U.S. Customs Service defines a DVC as a form used to track imported merchandise from the custody of the importer to the custody of a manufacturer and is used to substantiate a manufacturing drawback claim. The DVC is also known as a Certificate of Delivery (Customs Form 331). An export license may be issued with a requirement for delivery verification by Customs in t he receiving country. When delivery verification is required by a foreign government for goods imported into the U.S., the U.S. Customs Service will certify a delivery verification certificate (Form ITA-647). A U.S. export license may require submission of a similar form from an importing country.
Demand Draft	See Sight draft.
Demand-pull Inflation	A general increase in prices that occurs when demand exceeds supply.
Démarche	Official discussion with another government carried out on instructions.
Demise Charterparty	An agreement whereby the charterer takes over control costs and responsibilities of the vessel for an agreed period.
Demurrage	The sum agreed by charter to be paid as damage for delay beyond the stipulated time for loading or discharging. It should be collected daily by the master or agent.
Deposit Receipt	A receipt given in respect of a general average deposit payment.
Depression	A severe downturn in an economy that is marked by falling prices, reduced purchasing power, and high unemployment.
Deregulation	Deregulation refers to clearing away rules, regulations, paperwork requirements, or approval processes that affect the performance of public servants or the performance of industries, sectors, programs, overseen by public servants.
Derelict	A vessel that has been abandoned by the crew but has not sunk.
Destination Control Statement	Any of various statements that the U.S. government requires to be displayed on export shipments and that specify the destinations for which export of the shipment has been authorized.
Detention	Where demurrage is paid for an agreed number of days any further delay is termed "detention".
Devaluation	The official lowering of the value of one country's currency in terms of one or more foreign currencies. For example, if the U.S. dollar is devalued in relation to the French franc, one dollar will "buy" fewer francs than before.
Devanning	Removal of contents from a container (sometimes called stripping or discharging).
Deviation	A departure by a ship from the agreed customary route of the voyage with the intention of returning to that route to complete the voyage. Where the ship deviates without lawful excuse the underwriter, unless the policy provides otherwise, is discharged from all liability from the time the vessel deviates and insurance cover does not reattach if and when the vessel regains her original course.
Director	An officer of the company empowered by the company's constitution to conduct the affairs of the company.
Disagio	Commission or subsidy paid by the primary supplier to a third party, usually a broker, that releases the supplier from countertrade obligations. The premium paid represents an agio for the third party who receives it.
Disbursements	Expenses incurred by the shipowner in connection with running a ship.
DISC	Domestic international sales corporation.
Discount	To convert payment instruments to cash immediately, exporters must obtain a loan using draft, for example, as collateral or sell the draft to an investor or a bank for a fee. When the draft is sold to an investor or a bank, it is sold at discount. The exporter receives an amount less than the face value of the draft so that when the draft is paid at its face value at the specified future date, the investor or bank receives more than if paid to the exporter. The difference between the amount paid to the exporter and the face amount paid at maturity is called a discount and represents the fees or interest (or both) the investor or bank receives for holding the draft until maturity. Some draft are discounted by the investor or bank without recourse to the exporter in case the party that is obligated to pay the draft defaults; others may be discounted with recourse to the exporter, in which case the exporter must reimburse the investor or bank if the party obligated to pay the draft defaults. The exporter should be certain of the terms and conditions of any financing arrangement of this nature.
Discrepancy	Letter of credit: When documents presented do not conform to the letter of credit it is referred to as a discrepancy.
Disinflation	A slowdown in the rate of price increases. Disinflation occurs during a recession, when sales drop and retailers are unable to pass higher prices along to consumers.
Dispatch	An amount paid by a vessel's operator to a charterer if loading or unloading is completed in less time than stipulated in the charter party.
Dispatch Money	When so agreed in the charter-party, this is paid by the shipowner to the charterer as a result of the vessel completing loading or discharging before the stipulated time.
Displacement Tonnage	This term is chiefly used when referring to warships and is the actual weight of water displaced by the vessel when floating at her loaded draught.
Distributor	A foreign agent who sells for a supplier directly and maintains an inventory of the supplier's products.
Dock Receipt	A receipt issued by an ocean carrier to acknowledge receipt of a shipment at the carrier's dock or warehouse facilities. Also see Warehouse Receipt.
Documents	Papers customarily attached to foreign drafts, consisting of ocean bills of lading, marine insurance certificates, and commercial invoices, and where required, including certificates of origin and consular invoices.
Documentary Collecitons	A payment method where all the documents, including the bill of lading and bill of exchange (request for payment) are sent to the exporter's bank. All the documents are checked and sent to the importer's bank. Once the importer's bank has been paid by the importer, that bank releases the document of title (usually the bill of lading) to allow the importer to collect the goods.
Documentary Credit	A commercial letter of credit providing for payment by a bank to the name beneficiary, usually the seller of merchandise, against delivery of documents specified in the credit. (see Letter of Credit)
Documentary Draft	A draft to which documents are attached.
Documents Against Acceptance (D/A)	Instructions given by a shipper to a bank indicating that documents transferring title to goods should be delivered to the buyer (or drawee) only upon the buyer's acceptance of the attached draft.
Documents Against Payment - D/P	Instructions a shipper gives to his bank that the documents attached to a draft for collection are deliverable to the drawee only against his payment of the draft.
Documents of Title	Documents produced by a consignee as evidence of right to take delivery of goods (e.g. Bill of Lading and Export invoice).
Domicile	Or Residence. These are complex concepts regarding where a company or individual are considered to be located for the purposes of taxation, immigration and the application of law. 'Migration of Domicile' refers to the ability to move (a company) from one jurisdiction (country) to another.
Door-to-Door	Through transport of containers from consignor to consignee without any discharging or reloading of goods, except possibly at Customs control.
Draft (or Bill of Exchange)	An unconditional order in writing from one person (the drawer) to another (the drawee), directing the drawee to pay a specified amount to a named drawer at a fixed or determinable future date. See Date Draft, Sight Draft, Time Draft.
Drawback	A repayment of duty on the exportation of goods previously imported. Also—articles manufactured or produced in the United States with the use of imported components or raw materials and later exported are entitled to a refund of up to 99 percent of the duty charged on the imported components. The refund of duty is known as a drawback.
Drawee	The individual or firm on whom a draft is drawn and who owes the stated amount. Compare Drawer. Also see Draft.
Drawer	The individual or firm that issues or signs a draft and thus stands to receive payment of the stated amount from the drawee. Compare Drawee. Also see Draft.
Drill Ship	A type of drilling rig used in oil exploration at sea.
Dumb Barge	A barge that has no means of propulsion.
Dumping	Selling merchandise in another country at a price below the price at which the same merchandise is sold in the home market or selling such merchandise below the costs incurred in production and shipment.
Duty	A tax imposed on imports by the customs authority of a country. Duties are generally based on the value of the goods (ad valorem duties), some other factor such as weight or quantity (specific duties), or a combination of value and other factors (compound duties).

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