Short selling, or 'going short', is a technique whereby traders sell shares or debt instruments ('securities') which they do not own at the time of entering into the agreement to sell, in the hope that the price of the securities will fall, enabling the short seller to buy the shares back at a cheaper price than the sale price thereby making a profit. It is in the interests of short sellers for the price of securities to fall, and it is partly for this reason that the practice has been subject to regulatory restrictions since the global financial crisis of 2008. The two principal methods of short selling are: • covered short selling—this method of short selling occurs when the short seller borrows, or agrees to borrow, the number of securities that are being sold short from a holder of the securities, so that the short seller can deliver them to a buyer at settlement. The holder in turn receives lending fees from the borrower, and • uncovered (naked) short selling–this occurs

Energy Trading in Great Britain Electricity and gas in Great Britain is traded through bilateral markets. There is no prescribed form regarding trades. However, there are two primary agreements which have become established as standard forms of electricity trading and gas trading—the Grid Trade Master Agreement (GTMA) in respect of electricity, and the Short Term Flat NBP Trading Terms and Conditions 2015 (NBP Terms) in respect of gas. Additionally, in the case of gas, the Standard Terms and Conditions for the Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas for UK Short Term Deliveries at the Beach 2015 (Beach Terms) provide for trading of gas where delivery takes place at one of the National Transmission System's entry terminals (which are known as the ‘beach’). This is in contrast to the NBP Terms, which provide for trades to take place at the National Balancing Point, which is a notional delivery point on the National Transmission System. The GTMA, NBP Terms and Beach Terms exist as standalone agreements, but also can be incorporated in modified

This Practice Note describes: • the awards available to employees under a Share Incentive Plan (SIP) • the statutory conditions which a SIP must satisfy, and • the tax benefits of SIP awards A SIP is a tax-advantaged share plan that is intended to provide employees of both listed and unlisted companies with an opportunity to acquire shares (in contrast to options over shares) in their employer (or its parent). The shares acquired are held beneficially for employees by the trustee of a UK resident trust (SIP Trustee). A SIP must satisfy the conditions set out in Schedule 2 to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003) in order to qualify for the relevant tax advantages. A company can set up a SIP solely for its own employees or, if it controls other companies, extend the plan to employees of one or more of those companies (a group plan). A SIP must be operated on an all-employee, not discretionary, basis and

This Practice Note describes: • the types of option that may be granted under a tax-advantaged Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) and a tax-advantaged Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme • the statutory conditions that CSOP options and SAYE scheme options must satisfy to obtain the available tax advantages, and • the tax benefits of CSOP options and SAYE scheme options CSOP options and SAYE scheme options are types of tax-advantaged employee share option that give the holder the right to call for those shares in a company (the Scheme Company) that are subject to the option at a future date at a price (option price) determined at the date of grant. A CSOP or SAYE scheme that is established by the parent company of a group may be extended to all or any of the companies in the group. Although there are a number of similarities between a CSOP and an SAYE scheme, there are two key differences: • the Scheme Company may choose which of the employees

Why are ISDA definitional booklets needed? The vast majority of derivative transactions are documented by standard documentation developed and published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA). The key ISDA document which sets out the commercial terms of a particular trade are set out in a confirmation. For more information, see Practice Note: ISDA confirmations. A confirmation may incorporate certain defined terms by reference to booklets published by ISDA which are known as the ISDA definitions. Various ISDA definitions booklets have been published and are to be selected for incorporation into a confirmation depending on the type of derivative transaction involved (see Practice Note: ISDA definitions). When a party is documenting a credit derivative transaction, typically the confirmation will incorporate the 2014 ISDA Credit Derivatives Definitions (the 2014 Definitions). This is because by incorporating the 2014 Definitions, key terms found in the 2014 Definitions will automatically be applied to the transactions documented by the confirmation which leads to greater standardisation of those types of transaction. What

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Agreement on Agriculture. It provides definition on what constitutes an agricultural product. It also addresses market access commitments in agriculture and provides an overview of the obligations. It provides an overview of the domestic and export subsidy commitments and disciplines affecting trade in agricultural products. The Agreement on Agriculture entered into force under the Marrakesh Agreement on 1 January 1995. It deals only with trade in agricultural products although the commitments on agricultural products are to be found in each Member State’s schedule of concessions which it attached to the GATT 1994. To understand each Member State’s commitments on agricultural products, both the Agreement on Agriculture and the Member State’s schedule of commitments must be consulted. Agricultural products are defined in Annex 1 to the Agreement on Agriculture. It is defined with reference to the Harmonised System, which is the standardised numerical method of classifying traded products administered by the World Customs Organisation. It covers Chapters 1 to 24 of the Harmonised System as

This Practice Note introduces the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Import Licensing. It provides guidance on the general provisions that are applicable to all import licensing procedures as well as the specific provisions relevant to automatic and non-automatic import licensing procedures. It further provides guidance on the notification obligation to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing. Introduction Import licensing can adversely affect trade in goods. This was already recognised under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947. Article VIII of GATT 1947 dealt in broad terms with import licensing as follows: • Member States recognised the need to minimise the incidence of import and export formalities, and for decreasing and simplifying import and export documentation requirements • Member States agreed to review the operations of their laws and regulations in light of Article VIII if so requested by another Member State, and • Member States were prohibited from imposing substantial penalties for minor breaches of customs regulation or procedural requirements During the Tokyo Round of negotiations, Member States

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Preshipment Inspections. It contains practical guidance on the obligations that governments utilising preshipment inspections must comply with such as non-discrimination, transparency, protection of confidential business information and the avoidance of unreasonable delays. Introduction Preshipment inspection is usually concerned with activities relating to the verification of the quality, quantity and price of goods to be exported. Often private companies are contracted to perform preshipment inspections. The WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspections recognises that preshipment inspections could be an impediment to trade. As such the Agreement on Preshipment Inspections subjects preshipment to some of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) principles and obligations. Scope of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspections Preshipment inspection activities include all activities relating to the verification of the: • quality • quantity • price, including currency exchange rate and financial terms, and • customs classification of the goods to be exported to a Member State which utilises preshipment inspection (User Member State). The

This Practice Note introduces the basic concepts of safeguard measures as contained in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Safeguards and Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 (GATT 1947). It covers the main aspects relevant to safeguard measures, such as what constitutes a safeguard measure, when a Member State has the right to apply safeguard measures, the content, form and duration of the safeguard measures, the domestic investigation procedure and maintenance of the same level of concessions and obligations toward affected Member States. Introduction to safeguard measures Member States have been empowered to apply safeguard measures to prevent or remedy serious injury to their domestic industries since the GATT 1947. Safeguard measures are not aimed at unfair trade practices, such as dumping or subsidies, rather it provides Member States with a safety value for fair trade. The safety value is intended to provide temporary relief to a Member State’s domestic industry by limiting imports. This affords Member States the opportunity to adjust to increased import competition.

This Practice Note introduces the basic concepts of subsidisation and countervailing measures as contained in the WTO’s Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement. It covers the main aspects relevant to subsidy matters, such as the determination of the like product, the domestic industry, what constitutes a subsidy, what is a prohibited subsidy, what is an actionable subsidy, the two different tracks to resolve subsidy issues, the affect that a subsidy must have to be actionable and the different countervailing duties that may be imposed. Introduction The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 contained several provisions dealing with subsidies. Article VI deals with countervailing duties to counter the effect of a subsidy. Article XVI GATT provided for certain disciplines on domestic subsidies as well as export subsidies. The disciplines as contained in the GATT 1947 were weak. This led to the negotiation and conclusion of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) which came into force with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995. The

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. It explains that the scope of the agreement covers technical regulations, standard and conformity assessment procedures. It provides an overview of the conditions under which Member States may make use of technical barriers as well as the main disciplines and principles. Introduction to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade Member States have recognised that as tariffs are reduced, it is likely that non-tariff barriers will present another barrier to free trade. This has been the case under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 when in 1979 during the Tokyo Round of negotiations the Member States agreed to the Standards Code. As with other trade topics, the negotiations continued and eventually culminated in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). The TBT Agreement aims to ensure that technical regulations and standards and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary barriers to trade. At the same time, the TBT Agreement allows Member

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation. It provides practical guidance on the obligations that Member States adopted as well as the flexibility afforded to developing and least developed Member States in implementing the obligations of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. Introduction The Agreement on Trade Facilitation is the first multilateral agreement to have been concluded since the establishment of the WTO on 1 January 1995. It is a first in another respect. This is because it is the first WTO agreement that allows developing and least developed Member States to determine when they will have the capacity to implement individual provisions of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. The Agreement on Trade Facilitation aims to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods—including goods in transit. It entered into force on 22 February 2017 after two-thirds of the Member States completed their domestic ratification processes. Obligations The obligations that Member States assume under the Agreement on Trade Facilitation are contained in section