【正文】 nst any possible snags. Secondly, the interpretation of the delivery terms and the international practice are rather conventional and, in a sense, deep rooted, having recognition by both buyers and sellers for a long time. If you can apply them dexterously to your advantage, it is conductive to the promotion of foreign trade. Thirdly, when any trade disputes arise, you may be able to invoke the appropriate trade practice to cope unswervingly with different and even intricate problems and settle the disputes. When you are sure of your approach and tactics, you can take the initiative in bargaining with business adversaries and avoid embarrassment. All this points to the necessity of acquiring correct understanding of these interpretations.FOB…Port of ShipmentA. The seller must:(1) Supply the goods in conformity with the contract of sale, together with such evidence of conformity as may be required by the contract.(2) Deliver the goods on board the vessel named by the buyer, at the named port of shipment, in the manner customary at the port, at the date or within the period stipulated, and notify the buyer, without delay, that the goods have been delivered on board.(3) At his own risk and expense obtain any export license or other governmental authorization necessary for the export of the goods.(4) Subject to the provisions of articles and below, bear all costs and risks of the goods until such time as they shall have effectively passed the ship’s rail at the named port of shipment, including any taxes, fees or charges levied because of exportation, as well as the costs of any formalities which he shall to fulfill in order to load the goods on board.(5) Provide at his own expense the customary packing of the goods, unless it is the custom of the trade to ship the goods unpacked.(6) Pay the costs of any checking operations (such as checking quality, measuring, weighing, counting) which shall be necessary for the purpose of delivering the goods.(7) Provide at his own expense the customary clean document in proof of delivery of the goods alongside the named vessel.(8) Provide the buyer, at the latter’s request and expense (see ), with the certificate of origin.(9) Render the buyer, at the latter’s request, risk and expense, every assistance in obtaining a bill of lading and any documents, other than that mentioned in the previous article, issued in the country of shipment and/or of origin and which the buyer may require for the importation of the goods into the country of destination (and, where necessary, for their passage in transit through another country).B. The buyer must:(1)At his own expense, charter a vessel or reserve the necessary space on board a vessel and give the seller due notice of the name, loading berth of and delivery dates to the vessel.(2) Bear all costs and risks of the goods from the time when they shall have effectively passed the ship’s rail at the named port of shipment, and pay the price as provided in the contract.(3) Bear any additional costs incurred because the vessel named by him shall have failed to arrive on the stipulated date or by the end of the period specified, or shall be unable to take the goods or shall close for cargo earlier than the stipulated date or the end of the period specified and all the risks of the goods from the date of expiration of the period stipulated, provided, however, that the goods shall have been duly appropriated to the contract, that is to say, clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods.(4) Should he fail to name the vessel in time or, if he shall have reserved to himself a period within which to take delivery of the goods and/or the right to choose the port of shipment, should he fail to give detailed instructions in time, bear any additional costs incurred because of such failure, and all the risks of the goods from the date of expiration of the period stipulated for delivery, provided, however, that the goods shall have been duly appropriated to the contract, that is to say, clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods.(5) Pay any costs and charges for obtaining a bill of lading if incurred under article above.(6) Pay all costs and charges incurred in obtaining the document mentioned in articles A. 8 and above, including the costs of certificates of origin and consular documents.Variant of FOB TermsThe interpretation of FOB terms varies according to locality where the goods are loaded, in respect of incidence of loading expense. The general idea is that the seller shall bear all the expenses, responsibility and risks before his goods are loaded on board a ship. What is mean by “the goods are loaded on board a ship?” It is open to varied interpretations. This concept is construed in some countries as the goods having effectively passed the ship’s rail, and in some other countries as the goods having been placed on board of a ship, or having been put into the ship’s hold. These three stages of loading work are actually linked and enpassed in one operation. Which one of the three interpretations is adopted determines the way in which the expenses, responsibility and risks are divided between buyer and seller. It is a matter of concern to the foreign trade workers especially when they are negotiating a big business deal, say, 5,000,000m/t of wheat, coal, mineral ore and the like. The amount of loading expenses can be a staggering sum of money.It must be made clear at which point of time in the course of loading operation the risks shall pass from seller to buyer, and up to which point of time the buyer shall begin to bear the loading expenses. For instance, at some European ports, the seller shall pay all the expenses until the goods are put into the ship’s hold and stowed properly according to its usual practice (or custom) of the port。（3）有利于妥善解決貿(mào)易爭端。在貿(mào)易術(shù)語方面（1）國際商會《2000年國際貿(mào)易術(shù)語解釋通則》；（2）國際法協(xié)會《1932年華沙－牛津規(guī)則》；（3）美國全國對外貿(mào)易協(xié)會《1941年美