Trade & investment

ICC publishes three new books on UCP 600

  • 10 April 2008

ICC has published three new books on the recently revised Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, ICC’s rules on letters of credit, which govern billions of dollars in trade transactions annually. The latest revision of the rules, UCP 600, came into effect on 1 July 2007.

The first of the books, The Complete UCP by Dan Taylor, Vice-Chairman of the ICC Commission on Banking, contains the full text of the seven versions of the UCP that have appeared since 1933, as well as their antecedents, which date back to 1920. Each text is accompanied by an incisive commentary by Mr Taylor explaining the major changes from one UCP to the next.

The second book, User’s Handbook for Documentary Credits under UCP 600, written by Walter (Buddy) Baker and John Dolan, serves as an introduction to letter of credit users, the sellers and the buyers who seek to increase their access to cross-border markets.

The third book, Insights into UCP 600, edited by Ron Katz, is a collection of five years of articles on the revised UCP that have appeared from 2003 to 2007 in DCInsight, the world’s most respected newsletter on documentary credits. The articles, written by experts from ICC’ Commission on Banking, among others, covers the periods both before and after the rules were approved by ICC.

This trio of publications aims to provide a range of perspectives and a clearer understanding of UCP 600. Along with the newsletter, DCInsight, they constitute vital references for letter of credit users worldwide. Both Mr Taylor and Mr Dolan have contributed articles to the spring issue of DCInsight, which will be published later this month.