EXW, FOB, CIF or DDP for netting imports?
Incoterms are three-letter trade terms that decide where responsibility shifts between seller and buyer, and they are genuinely useful, in the way that a legal definition is useful: precise, load-bearing, and a fine way to make a simple netting quote feel like someone dropped a customs manual into a salad spinner. This guide keeps them practical for buyers importing agricultural netting, shade cloth, mesh bags or fencing products, which means covering the four terms you will actually see and the question each one is really asking.
In short
EXW usually puts the most work on the buyer. FOB is often cleaner for sea freight when the buyer controls freight and import. CIF includes freight to the destination port, but not necessarily import clearance, duties or final delivery. DDP sounds easiest because duties and delivery are included, but it must be confirmed per project because the importer-of-record setup matters. If you are not sure, say “not sure” in the quote request. That is better than choosing the wrong term confidently.
What Incoterms do and do not do
Incoterms 2020 are published by the International Chamber of Commerce. They define responsibilities between buyer and seller for delivery, risk and costs.
They do not replace:
- customs classification;
- duty calculation;
- product compliance;
- insurance details beyond the relevant term;
- the commercial contract;
- local import advice.
For Mesh & Net RFQs, the goal is simple: make sure the quote says who handles freight, import, duties and final delivery.
EXW: you collect at the factory
EXW means the seller makes the goods available at their premises or another named place. The buyer handles collection, export process, main freight, import and onward delivery.
For a small or first-time buyer, EXW can look cheap for the plain reason that the quote excludes most of the costs, and since none of those costs disappear, what the low number really represents is the portion of the job that has been handed to you along with the price, from booking the export clearance to finding a forwarder who will take a single pallet. Use EXW only if you already have the logistics capability to absorb that, and treat its number as incomparable to any other term on your desk.
FOB: loaded on the ship
FOB is commonly used for sea freight. In plain language the seller gets the goods to the port and loaded on board the vessel, after which the buyer handles ocean freight, insurance where it is wanted, import clearance, duties and final delivery, which makes it a reasonable setup for experienced importers, distributors and anyone who already works with a forwarder they trust.
The quote should name the port, and this is not a formality. “FOB China” leaves the cost of inland haulage to the coast sitting in an unnamed place, since the distance from a mill in the interior to Ningbo is not the distance to Shenzhen, so a named port turns the term into a number you can compare.
CIF: freight paid to your port
CIF includes cost, insurance and freight to the named destination port. It can be convenient, but buyers sometimes misunderstand it.
CIF does not automatically mean delivered to your warehouse, and the misunderstanding is common enough to be worth spelling out: the term usually means the goods arrive at the destination port, with import clearance, duties, port charges and inland transport all still in front of you, and with the risk having transferred back at origin even though the seller paid the freight. So when a buyer says “CIF Los Angeles”, the next question is who clears customs and pays the destination charges.
DDP: delivered duties paid
DDP is attractive because it sounds like one landed price, and on some projects that single figure really is the helpful thing. It also loads the seller with duties and import handling, which is precisely why it has to be confirmed per project: the quote needs to say who acts as importer of record, which duties and taxes it assumed when it was written, and what delivery address is included, because a duty assumption that was right in March can be wrong by the time the container books.
If a supplier throws out “DDP” without asking product classification, destination and importer setup, treat that as a yellow flag.
What to put in your quote request
If you are not a logistics specialist, write this:
Preferred Incoterm: Not sure. Please quote the cleanest setup and state who handles freight, customs, duties and final delivery.
That one sentence prevents a lot of confusion.
For a quote-ready request, include:
- Product family and specification.
- Quantity.
- Destination country and, ideally, destination city or port.
- Whether you have your own freight forwarder.
- Whether you can act as importer of record.
- Preferred delivery term, or “not sure”.
Use the RFQ Spec Builder if you want a structured request, or go directly to request a sourcing quote.
Sources
- International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms 2020 rules and official explanations: https://iccwbo.org/business-solutions/incoterms-rules/
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, importer and entry responsibilities: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importer-exporter-tips
This article is practical commercial guidance, not legal, customs or tax advice. Confirm importer-of-record, duty and compliance responsibilities with your broker or qualified advisor before ordering.
Frequently asked questions
Which Incoterm gives the cheapest netting quote?
EXW usually shows the lowest quoted number, but only because it excludes the most work: export handling, main freight, import clearance, duties and final delivery are all still yours. The cheapest quoted term is rarely the cheapest delivered cost.
Does CIF mean the netting is delivered to my warehouse?
No. CIF covers cost, insurance and freight to the destination port. Import clearance, duties, port charges and inland transport to your warehouse are still your responsibility. Ask who clears customs and pays destination charges.
What does importer of record mean on a netting order?
It is whoever is legally responsible for the customs entry: the classification, the duties and compliance. DDP shifts more of that to the seller side, but the quote must state who acts as importer of record and what duties are assumed.
Which Incoterm should a first-time netting importer ask for?
If you are not a logistics specialist, do not guess. Write "not sure" in the request and ask the supplier to quote the cleanest setup and state who handles freight, customs, duties and final delivery. That is safer than choosing the wrong term confidently.