Trading with the USA and the UN Convention for the International Sale of Goods

Abstract

The United States of America ("USA") is among the 70 countries, including France, Germany, Holland and most of the new European Union States that have adopted the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods ("CISG"). As a result of the growing internationalisation of trade in Europe and the USA, the CISG has become an important treaty in the lives of international business people carrying out their business in these regions. That is because the automatic application of the CISG imposes rules for the governing of commercial contracts between sellers and buyers internationally. The "automatic application" unique aspect provides that unless the CISG is expressly excluded, it integrates itself into the sales contracts between the parties. With regard to the foregoing, this article provides an overview of the CISG its application and enforcement in international sales situations between the USA and European countries.