Risk & Getting Paid on Foreign Jobs

Welcome

Hello, and welcome. This is Super Structures General Contractors — a national general contractor headquartered in Powhatan, Virginia — here to help you and your clients build something that lasts. We're glad you're with us, and we look forward to connecting with you.

Here's a hard-earned truth: the most dangerous part of an international job often isn't on the jobsite — it's whether you'll actually get paid, and whether the rules will change on you halfway through. Building in another country means risks you never think about at home: currency swings, political shifts, a legal system that may not have your back. This lesson is about protecting yourself so a great project doesn't become a great loss.

The risks that are bigger abroad

• Payment/credit risk (chasing a debtor across borders is hard), currency/exchange risk, political risk (regulation changes, instability, even expropriation), and legal/enforcement risk (can you actually enforce a judgment there?).

Protecting yourself

• Secure payment with letters of credit and escrow, advance payments, and milestone billing.
• Price currency risk, or get paid in a stable currency (USD/EUR) where you can.
• Put disputes into arbitration in a neutral venue (ICC, LCIA) under a known governing law — far more enforceable internationally than a foreign court judgment.

Going Deeper (Intermediate)

Learn the New York Convention: arbitration awards are enforceable across ~170 countries, while foreign court judgments often aren't — which is why international contracts almost always choose arbitration. Consider political-risk insurance (DFC, MIGA, private), export-credit support, and currency hedging, and do real due diligence on the owner's funding.

Advanced / Pro-Level

Structure payment security with an irrevocable, confirmed letter of credit from a reputable bank. Mind retention and repatriation, the risk profile of each FIDIC book, and sovereign/government-owner dynamics (they can be slow or politically driven payers). The discipline that separates the contractors who profit abroad from the ones with horror stories: walk away from any deal where you can't secure payment or enforce your rights.

Practice Challenge

Two contractors do equal-quality work abroad; one insisted on an irrevocable letter of credit and an ICC arbitration clause, the other trusted a handshake and the local courts. The owner stops paying. Who's protected? (Answer: the one with the letter of credit and arbitration clause — the LC secures payment through a bank, and an ICC arbitration award is enforceable across ~170 countries under the New York Convention, while a local court judgment often isn't. International risk is managed with payment security and neutral, enforceable dispute resolution, not trust.)

Takeaway: International jobs carry bigger payment, currency, political, and enforcement risks — protect yourself with letters of credit/escrow, payment in stable currency, and arbitration in a neutral venue (enforceable worldwide under the New York Convention), and walk from any deal where you can't secure payment or enforce your rights.

Educational overview — not legal advice. International licensing, immigration, tax, and contract law vary widely by country and change often; engage local counsel and an international CPA and verify current requirements before pursuing work abroad.