
In international trade practices, "Export agentThe standard English expression for "協(xié)議" is:Export Agency AgreementAccording to the latest 2025 edition of the *International* released by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC),Trade termsThe term "General Agency Agreement" has formed an industry consensus. Special attention should be paid to distinguishing it from "Distribution Agreement"—the former emphasizes an agency relationship, while the latter belongs to a sales relationship, with fundamental differences in the division of rights and obligations.
- Scope of Agency
- Clearly define the agency territory (Territory).
- Please indicate the nature of the agency as exclusive/non-exclusive (Exclusivity)
- Commission Structure
- Commission Calculation Base (FOB/CIF and other pricing methods)
- Payment Cycle and Dispute Resolution Mechanism
- Intellectual Property Protection
- Termination Conditions
- Applicable Law & Dispute Resolution
The newly implemented EU "Amended Commercial Agents Directive" in 2025 requires that agency agreements must include:Minimum Service Period Guarantee Clause. Typical cases we have handled indicate that Chinese export enterprises often overlook:
- The market development cost sharing ratio was not agreed upon.
- Blurring the Non-Competition Obligations of Agents
- Ignore the special certification requirements of the target market.
Although online templates can serve as references, according to the big data on foreign-related contract disputes released by the Supreme Court in 2025:
- 72% of disputes arise from unprofessional wording in the terms.
- 35% of cases were lost due to improper selection of applicable law.
It is recommended to entrust the task to a professional agency.Contract Localization(Contract Localization), particularly when involving markets of RCEP member countries, requires the integration of special clauses such as tariff commitments and rules of origin.
Based on our experience serving over 300 export enterprises, we recommend adoptingModular contract architecture:
- Boilerplate Clauses refer to the ICC standard.
- Commercial Terms are customized by product category.
- Compliance Annexes include:
- export control list
- Anti-Commercial Bribery Commitment Letter
- Data Cross-Border Transmission Agreement