Glossary of Trade & Shipping Terms - W

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• W.A. - With Average
• W.A. - With average
• W.B. - Water ballast, Warehouse Book, Way Bill
• W.B./E.I. - West Britain/East Ireland
• w.b.s. - Without benefit of salvage
• W.C. - West Coast
• W.C.I. - World Confederation of Labor
• W.C.S.A. - West coast of South America
• W.D.F. - Wireless direction finder
• W.E.C.M. - Warranted existing class maintained
• W.E.U. - Western European Union
• W.F.T.U. - World Federation of Trade Unions
• w.g. - Weight guaranteed
• W.H.O. - World Health Organization
• W.M.O. - World Meteorological Organization
• W.N.A. - Winter North Atlantic
• w.o.b. - Washed overboard
• W.O.L. - Wharfowners' liability
• w.p. - Without prejudice, Weather permitting
• W.P.A. - With particular average
• w.p.p. - Waterproof paper packing
• W.R. - Warehouse receipts
• w.r.o. - War risk only
• W.R.T.D. - Without reference to date
• W.T.B.A. - Wording to be agreed
• w.w.d. - Weather working days
• W/d - Warranted
• W/M - Weight and /or Measurement
• W/W - Warehouse warrant
• WACH - West African Clearing House
• WADB - West African Development Bank
• WAEC - West African Economic Community
• WAMU - West African Monetary Union
• WAOB - World Agricultural Outlook Board
• WARC - World Administrative Radio Conference
• WARDA - West Africa Rice Development Association
• waybill - Document used as a receipt for goods. Unlike a bill of lading it is not a document of title. This document is also synonymous with liner waybill, ocean waybill, or sea waybill.
• WCL - World Confederation of Labor
• Wdg. - Wording
• Webb-Pomerene Association - Associations engaged in exporting that combine the products of similar producers for overseas sales. These associations have partial exemption from U.S. anti-trust laws but may not engage in import, domestic or third country trade or combine to export services.
• West Africa Economic Community - CEAO (French: Communaute Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest), created in 1974, includes: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. (Togo has observer status). The CEAO operates as a free trade area for agricultural products and raw materials and as a preferential trading area for approved industrial products, with a regional cooperation tax (TCR) replacing import duties and encouraging trade among members. A Community fund (FOSIDEC) promotes private lender Community participation in advancement of the Community's least developed nations (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger). CEAO envisions eventual creation of a customs union and coordination of fiscal policies. Community headquarters are in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
• West Africa Rice Development Association - WARDA conducts research on rice improvement in mangrove swamps, inland swamps, upland conditions, and irrigated conditions. The Association is one of several centers associated with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. WARDA was established in 1970; headquarters are in Bouake, C"te d'Ivoire. Members include 16 West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, C"te d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. See: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
• West African Clearing House - WACH (French: Chambre de Cooperation de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, CCAO) provides settlement of payments services among central bank and other monetary authorities in West Africa. WACH was established in 1975 (began operations in 1976); headquarters are in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Membership includes the Central Bank of West African States (representing Benin, Burkina Faso, C"te d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo) as well as The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
• West African Development Bank - The West African Development Bank, WADB, (French: Banque Quest-Africaine de Developpement, BOAD) promotes regional economic development and integration in West Africa. The Bank was established in 1973 (began operations in 1976); headquarters are in Lome, Togo. WADB members include: Benin, Burkina Faso, C"te d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
• West African Monetary Union - WAMU (French: Union Monetaire Quest Africaine, UMOA) began operation in 1963 and was revised in 1973. The Union comprises seven French-speaking African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo which share a: (a) central bank (Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest) which coordinates the Union's monetary and credit policies; (b) common currency (CFA Franc) which is freely convertible into the French Franc at a fixed parity; and (c) a common regional development bank, the West African Development Bank. WAMU headquarters are in Daka, Senegal.
• Western European Union - The WEU was created in October 1954 (began operations in May 1955) to promote mutual defense and progressive political unification of its members. The Union, which serves interests between those furthered by the European Economic Community and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has faced the need to change and has become focused on three missions: humanitarian aid, peacekeeping, and crisis management and some peace enforcement considerations. Membership, which included Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, has been increasing toward approximately 40 nations as a result of negotiations on membership or associate status with Greece, Turkey, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland. WEU headquarters moved from London, England to Brussels, Belgium in December 1992.
• WEU - Western European Union
• Wf. - Wharf
• WFC - World Food Council
• WFDFI - World Federation of Development Financing Institutions
• WFP - World Food Program
• WH - World Health Organization
• wharf - Structure built alongside the water where ships berth for loading or unloading goods.
• Wharfage - A charge assessed by a pier or dock owner for handling incoming or outgoing cargo.
• white products - Refined products.
• WIP - World Intellectual Property Organization
• With Average - A marine insurance term meaning that a shipment is protected from partial damage whenever the damage exceeds 3 percent (or some other percentage). If the ship is involved in a major catastrophe, such as a collision, fire or stranding, the minimum percentage requirement is waived and the insurance company pays for all of the damage. See: Marine Cargo Insurance.
• Without Reserve - A term indicating that a shipper's agent or representative is empowered to make definitive decisions and adjustments abroad without approval of the group or individual represented.
• WM - World Meteorological Organization
• World Administrative Radio Conference - WARC refers to the conferences convened regularly by the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to allocate and regulate radio frequencies for the purposes of television and radio broadcasting, telephone data communications, navigation, maritime and aeronautical communication, and satellite broadcasting.
• World Agricultural Outlook Board - The WAOB acts as the focal point for U.S. economic intelligence related to domestic and international food and agriculture. The Board coordinates and clears all commodity and aggregate agricultural and food-related data used to develop outlook and situation material within the Department of Agriculture. WAOB was established in 1977.
• World Bank - The World Bank is an integrated group of international institutions which provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries. The World Bank includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. World Bank affiliates, legally and financially separate, include the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the International Finance Corporation, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. World Bank headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
• World Confederation of Labor - The WCL represents the cultural, economic, political, and social interests of millions of workers in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The Confederation was founded in 1920 as th International Federation of Christian Trade Unions (IFCTU .. not to be confused with ICFTU, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions); headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
• World Federation of Development Financing Institutions - WFDFI (Spanish: Federacion Mundial de Instituciones Financieras de Desarollo, WFDFI) promotes improved technical operations of, and coordination among, worldwide development banking activities. Federation members include development financing institutions. The Federation was established in 1979; headquarters are in Madrid, Spain.
• World Food Council - The WFC is a UN body which was created in December 1974 to help eliminate hunger and malnutrition. The Council monitors world food production, consumption, and trade patterns. The Council provides a forum for international discussion and assistance on ways of improving food production in developing countries and in increasing world food security. WFC headquarters are in Rome, Italy.
• World Food Program - The WFP, created in 1963, is a United Nations program with headquarters in Rome, Italy. WFP administers the International Emergency Food Reserve and supports projects which incease agricultural production, nutrition, and social and economic development in developing countries.
• World Health Organization - The WHO (French: Organisation Mondiale de la Sante, OMS) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which sets standards for the quality control of drugs, vaccines, and other substances affecting health. WHO was established in July 1946; headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. See: Codex Alimentarius Commission.
• World Intellectual Property Organization - WIPO (French: Organisation Mondiale de la Propriete Intellectuelle, OMPI) promotes protection of intellectual property around the world through cooperation among states, and administers various "Unions," each founded on a multilateral treaty and dealing with the legal and administrative aspects of intellectual property. The Organization was established in 1967 (came into force in 1970), and became a specialized agency of the United Nations in December 1974; headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - One of the 15 'specialized agencies' of the United Nations system of organizations. WIPO, located in Geneva, is responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks, patents) throughout the world through cooperation among states, and for the administration of various 'Unions,' each founded on a multilateral treaty and dealing with the legal and administrative aspects of intellectual property.
• World Meteorological Organization - Originally established under another name in 1875, the WMO was reconstituted and renamed in 1951. The WMO facilitates worldwide cooperation in establishing a network for meteorological, hydrological, and geophysical observations, for exchanging meteorological and related information, and for promoting standardization in meteorological measurements. Organization headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
• World Tourism Organization - The WTO, associated with the United Nations, is an intergovernmental technical body dealing with all aspects of tourism. The Organization promotes and develops tourism as a means of contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, and prosperity. The WTO provides a world clearing house for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of technical tourism information and it offers national tourism administrations and organizations a means for multilateral approaches to international discussions and negotiations on tourism policy and practice. The Organization was established in November 1974; headquarters are in Madrid, Spain.
• World Trade Organization - Provisions to establish the WTO were reached in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is scheduled to be established no later than 1997 as an international organization of comparable stature to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Organization is expected to facilitate implementation of trade agreements reached in the Uruguay Round by bringing them under one institutional umbrella, requiring full participation of all countries in one new trading system, and providing a permanent forum to discuss new issues facing the international trading system. The WTO system will be available only to countries which: (a) are contracting parties to the GATT, (b) agree to adhere to all of the Uruguay Round agreements, and (c) submit schedules of market access commitments for industrial goods, agricultural goods, and services.
• World Traders Data Reports - WTDR is an International Trade Administration fee-based service which provides a confidential background report on a specific foreign firm, prepared by commercial officers overseas. WTDRs provide information about the type of organization, year established, relative size, number of employees, general reputation, territory covered, language preferred, product lines handled, principal owners, financial references, and trade references. WTDRs include narrative information about the reliability of the foreign firm.
• WT - World Tourism Organization, World Trade Organization
• wt. - Weight
• Wtd. - Warranted
• WTDR - World Trade Data Report
• WTDR - World Traders Data Report
• Wties - Warranties
• WTM - World Tourism Market
• Wty - Warranty