INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL TERMS (INCOTERMS): RELEVÂNCIA E ASPECTOS DE SUA APLICAÇÃO

Abstract

International trade is in constant evolution, intermediating demands and deliveries through imports and exports. Transactions between countries, for reasons involving, among other things, linguistic, cultural, commercial customs and legislative differences, are converted into complex processes, which end up lacking tools that can assist its execution. The contracts, products of the negotiations, validate and formalize the established relations. However, given the divergent particularities of each nation, the understanding of these documents can be compromised. In this sense, the Incoterms of the International Chamber of Commerce are presented as an attempt to solve the misinterpretations given to the content of contracts, with respect to the delivery of goods, standardizing information on the obligations and responsibilities of each party. In this work, the relevance and the main aspects of application of the terms in international trade are addressed, in order to conceptualize them, understand their role, observe their evolution and the changes suffered. For this, was used the method of qualitative and exploratory research, conducted through bibliographic survey, based on the voice of authors such as Souza (2013), Fiuza (2020) and Monteiro (2016). Thus, as a result, Incoterms are a set of 11 terms, which delimit duties and responsibilities between buyer and seller in the international scenario. Its creation dates back to 1936, being updated periodically, every 10 years, since 1980, with the latest version released in 2020. These clauses fulfill the function of harmonizing the content of contracts, with regard to the delivery of goods, and can be used by countries internally and externally. Its presence in international trade is therefore elementary, routing operations and ensuring the optimized flow of the exchanges. In this way, the history of Incoterms and the main changes suffered since its creation were approached, providing a parallel between the evolution of the terms, their relevance and aspects of their application.