This is the 1998 Arrangement. The main purpose of the Arrangement is to provide the institutional framework for an orderly export credit market; it aims to prevent an export credit race in which exporting countries compete on the basis of who grants the most favourable financing terms rather than on the basis of the price and quality of the product. The Arrangement sets limits on the terms and conditions for export credits involving credit terms of two years or more - that is, that are insured, guaranteed, extended, refinanced or subsidised by or through export credit agencies. In addition to providing a framework for official export credits, the Arrangement sets out rules for tied aid and for risk-based premium fees. The Arrangement is a gentlemen's agreement; it is not an OECD legal Act. The Participants to the Arrangement are most OECD Member countries