The simplest answer to this question is, “yes” and “no.”
The two parties can be basically the same. This is to say that the proper pronouns can be the same. Thus, “Herculean Efforts, Inc.” can ship to its related company, “Herculean Efforts, Inc.” in another country. However, for the shipper’s address, it must be the street address in the United States where Herculean Efforts is domiciled. In the same vein, the consignee in the foreign country must list Herculean Efforts’ street address in that foreign country.
There are two instances where this sort of thing happens frequently. One way is described by our example above with Herculean Efforts, Inc. The two entities might be two international branches of the same company. Therefore, the shipper and the consignee can be the same. The other instance in which the shipper and the consignee can be the same is when the consignee comes to the United States and buys the merchandise while living or based in the United States to ship to him/herself in another country. For example, a certain Bob Mitchell comes to Texas. While this Mr. Bob Mitchell is in Texas, he finds an old Ford Pickup Truck that he knows how to fix up and make like new. (Obviously, he is a a good mechanic and connoisseur of the best things in life.) And so, he purchases the vehicle while living in the United States to ship to his mechanic shop based and domiciled in the United Kingdom. This is the other case where Bob Mitchell can be both the shipper and the consignee.
The shipper is, in strict terms, the contract party on the bill of lading. The consignee is the recipient of the goods. In the two cases outlined above, they are the same party.
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