Incoterms for Importers, Decoded进口商必懂的贸易术语

Incoterms are the three-letter codes on your purchase contract that decide one thing above all: at what point cost and risk move from your supplier to you. Pick the wrong one and you can end up paying for freight twice, or owning the risk for cargo you can't see. Here are the terms that matter for containerized imports.贸易术语是采购合同上的三字母代码，它最核心的作用是：决定成本和风险在哪个节点从供应商转移给您。选错术语可能导致运费付两次，或为看不到的货物承担风险。以下是集装箱进口中真正重要的术语。

The terms you'll actually see实际会遇到的术语

Why FOB is the default advice for China imports为什么FOB是中国进口的默认建议

Under FOB your supplier handles the part they're good at — Chinese trucking, export clearance, port handling — and you control the ocean freight, the carrier choice, and every cost after the ship sails. You see one freight invoice, from your own forwarder, in your own currency.FOB条款下，供应商负责他们擅长的部分——中国境内运输、出口报关、港口操作——而您掌控海运、承运人选择和开船后的全部成本。您只看到一张运费账单，来自您自己的货代，用您自己的币种。

The traps常见陷阱

• CIF "cheap freight". The seller buys the cheapest ocean slot and recovers margin through destination charges you only discover at the port. The headline price is low; the landed cost isn't.CIF的"便宜运费"。卖方买最便宜的舱位，再通过您到港才发现的目的港费用赚回差价。表面价格低，到岸成本并不低。
• EXW from China. You become responsible for Chinese export formalities you can't perform — in practice your forwarder's China agent does it, but quoting and liability get murky. FCA usually achieves what buyers wanted from EXW, cleaner.从中国EXW。您要负责自己无法办理的中国出口手续——实践中由货代的中国代理操作，但报价和责任会变得模糊。FCA通常能更干净地实现EXW想达到的目的。
• DDP "convenience". The seller must act as the importer into Canada — but non-resident importation has real compliance requirements, and you may lose the GST input tax credit on tax your seller paid. Many DDP arrangements quietly become your problem at an audit.DDP的"省事"。卖方必须作为进口商进入加拿大——但非居民进口有实实在在的合规要求，且卖方缴纳的GST您可能无法抵扣进项税。许多DDP安排在审计时悄悄变成您的问题。
• Risk vs cost confusion. Under CFR/CIF the seller pays the freight but risk passes at the origin port. If the cargo is damaged mid-ocean, it's your insurance claim — under CFR you may have no insurance at all unless you bought it.混淆风险与成本。CFR/CIF下卖方付运费，但风险在始发港就转移。货物在海上受损是您的保险索赔——CFR下如果您没买保险，可能根本没有保障。

One more thing Incoterms don't do: they don't decide who owns the goods or when you pay — that's your sales contract. They only allocate transport cost, risk, and clearance duties.贸易术语不决定的事：货物所有权和付款时间——那是销售合同的内容。它们只分配运输成本、风险和清关义务。