BERNEV / CUSTOMS LAW
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The foreign-trade contract does not protect the position in a dispute

The contract is signed but does not clearly allocate responsibility for the goods, timing, acceptance, documents and payment. In a dispute, the performance model then has to be reconstructed from attachments and correspondence.

Where the position usually weakens

A position weakens when the document, deadline and evidence do not fit together. Start with the facts, response period and evidence chain.

01price, specification, acceptance and document requirements are described differently across attachmentsthe contract should withstand a dispute; signature and payment alone are not enough
02the Incoterms term and actual logistics do not matchprice, acceptance, Incoterms, participant roles and the document set are critical
03the contract has no clear response model for late delivery, defective goods or return of an advancea weak contract can increase the cost and complexity of a later dispute

What to check now

Start with the documents that explain the facts, deadline, money, goods and parties' actions rather than collecting the entire archive.

01

Compare the disputed contract term with schedules, specifications and later correspondence.

02

Check what proves each party's actual performance on the disputed part of the transaction.

03

Trace how changes, acceptance or departures from the original terms were agreed.