ICC Model Contract Distributorship

Distributorship contracts are one of the most frequently used means for organising the distribution of goods in a foreign country. Almost every company engaged in international trade has some distributors abroad, which means that most exporters will be faced with drafting an international distributorship agreement at some point.

One of the difficulties that traders face when drawing up contracts is the lack of uniform regulations. This means that parties must refer primarily to the rules set out in their agreements, which in turn makes the careful drafting of such contracts vital.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) provides the ICC Model Contract Distributorship, a uniform contractual framework to help exporters and their distribution partners establish and maintain a durable and balanced distribution system for goods abroad. It specifically applies to agreements under which the distributors act either as buyers and resellers, or as importers who organise distribution in the country in which they operate. This new revised version takes into account recent developments in the laws affecting distribution and prevailing practice of international trade.

Each ICC Model Contract includes a fully editable version in Microsoft, permitting you to easily adapt the contract to your specific case.