How Incoterms Keep Global Trade From Falling Apart

Most people have never heard of Incoterms, but these eleven rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce are the skeleton underneath nearly all cross-border trade. First created in 1936, they've survived containerization, air freight, and the internet — but each revision reveals where the system is straining. This episode traces the evolution from 1936 to the 2020 update, breaks down the five targeted fixes in the latest revision, and asks whether Incoterms are becoming less useful as e-commerce, consolidation hubs, and proprietary platforms reshape global logistics. Along the way, we explore a surprising parallel with the DSM diagnostic manual: both are categorical systems trying to describe a dimensional world. Episode #023662 — open it directly at myweirdprompts.com/023662