Welcome to the first edition of the Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters. This guide is designed to help U.S. companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), learn the basic fundamentals of trade finance to turn their export opportunities into actual sales and to achieve the ultimate goal: to get paid for their export sales, especially on time. This guide provides general information about common techniques of export financing. Accordingly, you are advised to assess each technique in light of your specific situation or needs. The Trade Finance Guide will be revised and updated annually. Future editions may include new chapters discussing other trade finance techniques and related topics