ABSTRACT
Payments in relation to transnational sales contracts are thorny issues. They require hard bargaining: whereas the seller would like to sell at the highest possible price over a short period of time, the buyer would like to pay the most competitive price over as long a period as possible. Between two parties belonging to rich countries, the transmission of payments in hard currencies does not usually present any difficulty; in view of the principle of the free movement of capital operational within the European Union, particularly after the full operation of the Single Market, the transmission of payments between EU Member States should not present any problem. The issue of payment therefore assumes a special importance in the event of a seller belonging to a rich country selling a product to a buyer belonging to a developing country. Incidentally, under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), a buyer in a developing country may take advantage of the system, where available, when trading with a party in a rich country so that the party in a rich country is not required to pay any import duty on the product imported from such buyers.
