This alert is the first in a series addressing the issues affecting trade finance documentation and transactions in the current climate.
Issues concerning documentation have been at the forefront of discussions in the trade, export and commodity finance industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. These discussions have underlined the importance of understanding the rights and obligations conferred on the parties to trade finance documents. Standard provisions that are often included without much consideration or negotiation, such as those relating to amendments and waivers, are suddenly in the spotlight.The impact of the pandemic on the ability to meet contractual obligations might require agreements to be amended, or in counterparties seeking temporary waivers of obligations that would otherwise be breached. This alert looks at the issues that parties to trade documentation should be aware of when trying to find solutions to these commercial problems. We start by considering some general principles relating to amending English law documentation and the granting of waivers, before considering some typical trade finance documentation.
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