Fundamentals of International Business Transactions

Book Synopsis: There are many guides to the conduct of international business transactions, but none as comprehensive and detailed as this. It clearly identifies in great depth the many sources of risk in cross-border transactions, analyzes the legal instruments that provide protection to the parties, and describes the practical means--institutional, purchased, and negotiated--of reducing, reallocating, and perhaps even eliminating risks. Each chapter covers a distinct element of risk, with insightful commentary on the relevant national, regional, and international laws and detailed analyses of leading and defining cases from many jurisdictions and international courts, as well as considerations of significant scholarly contributions and guidance through insurance options and matters for negotiation. Beginning with the entry-level commercial transaction and letter of credit financing, the author moves through issues of commercial law, dispute resolution, sovereign involvement, public international law, antitrust law, and taxation. Along the way, he highlights types of transaction to which host country law has special application. The crucial issues of jurisdiction, choice of forum in dispute resolution, recognition and enforcement of judgments, foreign currency judgments, and defenses against claims of sovereign immunity all arise in context with detailed critical analysis and commentary. Other matters covered include the commercial and political risk insurance provided by such US agencies as the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the protection for investors offered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and the draft Multilateral Treaty on Investment (MAI).