Interested in entrepôt trade, hoping to understand it through specific examples, preferably explaining the transaction process and involved commodities. The best answer would use an example of Chinese Company A producing garments, unable to export directly to American Company B due to trade barriers, with Zhongmaoda intervening as an entrepôt trader, first purchasing the garments and shipping them to Singapore, then after simple processing, exporting them to American Company B, to elaborate on the entrepôt trade process and common commodities.
Is entrepôt trade conducted within the territory?
Resolved
I'm not very familiar with entrepôt trade and want to know if it's a business conducted within the territory. Some friends say entrepôt trade involves cargo transportation and seems more related to overseas, but others say domestic enterprises can also operate it, which confuses me. How is entrepôt trade zoned? If it's domestic, what are the specific processes and steps involved? I hope someone can provide a detailed explanation.
Trade Expert Insights Answers
Entrepôt trade is not entirely domestic. Entrepôt trade refers to the buying and selling of import and export goods in international trade, which are not conducted directly between the producing and consuming countries but are transshipped through a third country. This third country may involve the domestic territory or be entirely overseas.
In one scenario, a domestic enterprise purchases goods from country A overseas and ships them directly to country B overseas without passing through the domestic territory. The domestic enterprise is only responsible for the trade operations, and the goods do not actually enter the domestic customs territory. This is not considered to be conducted within the territory in the strict sense.
In another scenario, goods enter specific domestic areas such as bonded zones, undergo simple processing or warehousing within the zone, and are then re-exported. This involves operations within specific domestic areas, but the goods remain in a bonded state and do not fully enter the domestic market circulation. In summary, the definition of the zone for entrepôt trade depends crucially on the actual flow of goods and the operational model of the enterprise.
Entrepôt trade is not necessarily conducted within the territory. In some entrepôt trade, the goods are constantly in transit overseas, and the domestic enterprise merely handles trade matchmaking, contract signing, etc., so it is not considered to be within the territory.
If goods pass through domestic bonded port areas or similar areas for some processing before re-export, this part of the entrepôt trade is related to the domestic territory, but it is still different from general domestic trade as the goods are in a bonded state.
From the definition, entrepôt trade involves three countries. If the goods do not touch the domestic territory at all, it is certainly not domestic. If domestic enterprises are involved and the goods circulate in specific domestic areas, then it is considered to have some relation to the domestic territory.
Entrepôt trade depends on the cargo route. If it's directly from one foreign country to another, and domestic enterprises only handle documents, then it's not domestic. If the goods arrive at a non-bonded area within the territory, then it enters the domestic trade process.
Entrepôt trade situations vary. For example, purchasing goods overseas and shipping them directly to another overseas customer has no relation to the domestic territory. However, if goods are temporarily stored and processed in a special customs supervision area within the territory before export, it is considered to have a connection with the domestic territory.
It cannot be simply said that entrepôt trade is domestic. It depends on the specific cargo transportation route and enterprise operations. If the goods are transported entirely overseas and the domestic territory is only responsible for processing trade documents, then it is not domestic.
Some entrepôt trade goods may briefly stop at a domestic port before being transshipped. This is considered to involve the domestic territory, but it is different from trade where goods are sold within the domestic territory.
If entrepôt trade goods pass through domestic bonded logistics parks for transit before export, it is somewhat related to the domestic territory. If it is directly from overseas to overseas, it does not involve the domestic territory.