4.1.1 Measurement Systems in International Trade国际...
In any contract,quantities of goods need to be measured in a unit,but this is where problems may arise in international sales,as people from the world use different measurement systems and may have different understandings even for the same unit.Though the world is progressing toward a uniformed system of measurement,customary units still hold in a few countries and result in confusions.For example,a ton has a different real weight depending on whether you are speaking of a so-called metric ton,a short ton or a long ton and that an ounce of sugar,of water and of gold have different real weights too.A U.S gallon is different from a British imperial gallon.Shocked?I’m not surprised if you say yes.In the above example,1 metric ton ≈ 1.104 2 short ton ≈ 0.984 2 long ton and the same unit called “ounce”weighs differently for dry goods,fluids or precious metals in the U.S.as well as in the U.K.A U.S.gallon is equal to 3.875 liters while an imperial gallon to 4.564 liters.Even a local could be baffled by the peculiarities and complexities,let alone a foreigner.Therefore,when you draft a contract,you need to be explicit about the units of measurement used and the corresponding measurement system to avoid misunderstandings.Common measurement systems used in international trade include the Metric System(a system based on the unit of “meter”),the British Imperial System,the U.S.Customary Measurement Systems and the International System of Units(SI),the last one being a development of the Metric System.The Metric System and the International System of Units have been gaining popularization around the world.Now most countries have granted an official status to SI,including the United Kingdom,Canada and the United States,although these three countries are among a handful of nations that,to various degrees,also keep using their customary systems.The UK and Canada adopt both the Metric System and the Imperial System,and the United States is still dominated by its customary unit systems,particularly in daily life.Therefore,confusions and misunderstandings regarding quantity may still exist and you need to keep an eye on it.In many cases,tradersuse “M/T”or “tonne”for weight in order to specifically refer to a ton in the Metric System and distinguish it from a long ton or a short ton.Besides,units like “piece”“set”“dozen”,etc.are common in trade for counting numbers.Table 4-1 gives a list of the common units of measurement.Table 4-2 demonstrates how to convert between units of length and Table 4-3 between units of capacity.Figure 4-1 is an intuitive representation of the relationship between yard,foot and inch and Figure 4-2 one of the conversions between fluid units under the US customary units.
Table 4-1 Common Units of Measurement
Table 4-2 Conversion Between Units of Length
Table 4-3 Conversion Between Units of Capacity
Figure 4-1 Conversion Between Yard,Foot,Inch and Centimeter
Figure 4-2 Conversion Between Fluid Units under the US Customary Units