Offer

An Offer is a legal act in international trade whereby the seller or buyer proactively proposes transaction terms to the other party and undertakes to be bound by these terms within a specified period. It typically includes core clauses such as commodity name, quality, quantity, packaging, price, delivery time, payment method, and validity period. Usage scenarios are mostly when the seller issues an offer after receiving an inquiry from the buyer, or when the seller proactively promotes to potential customers. Precautions: Offers are divided into Firm Offer and Non-firm Offer. A Firm Offer is binding; once the offeree unconditionally accepts it within the validity period, the contract is formed. A Non-firm Offer has reserved conditions (e.g., 'subject to our final confirmation') and has no legal binding force. The difference from an 'Inquiry' is: an inquiry is when the buyer asks about prices and transaction terms, with no binding force; while an offer proposes specific transaction terms. The difference from a 'Counter-offer' is: a counter-offer is a rejection of an offer and proposes new terms, constituting a new offer. Foreign trade practitioners need to clarify the nature of the offer to avoid disputes caused by unclear wording.