Customs Union
Summary of Customs Union
An arrangement among participating countries whereby tariffs are eliminated or virtually eliminated on products moving between members, and a common external tariff (read this and related legal terms for further details) is adopted to provide uniform treatment to goods of third countries entering any customs union member. A customs union is a level of economic integration greater than that of a FREE TRADE AREA (read this and related legal terms for further details) and less encompassing than a COMMON MARKET (read this and related legal terms for further details).
(Main Author: William J. Miller)
Introduction to Customs Union
Customs Union, association formed when two or more sovereign states agree to eliminate or reduce trade barriers among themselves and to adopt a common trade policy toward outsiders. Customs unions are designed to lower costs of imported goods and to enlarge markets. They stimulate commerce and industry within the union by allotting to each member a specialized economic structure in which each country may concentrate on those products that are easiest to produce in terms of its resources and, when possible, may import other essential products from the member countries at minimal expense.
Several important customs unions are in operation today, including the European Economic Community and the European Coal and Steel Community (designed to eliminate restrictions on trade in coal and steel among the signatory powers), both part of the European Union and the Benelux Economic Union. These customs unions have worked to establish a common external tariff among member nations and to eliminate internal tariffs. Such measures have done much to unify Western Europe.” (1)
Customs Union in International Trade
Meaning of Customs Union, according to the Dictionary of International Trade (Global Negotiator): An association between two or more countries to eliminate tariffs and other import restrictions on each other’s goods and establish a common tariff on the goods from all other countries. As in the free trade area, goods and services are freely traded among members. In addition, however, the customs union establishes a common trade policy with respect to non-members. Typically this takes the form of a common external tariff, whereby imports from non-member are subject to the same tariff when sold to any member country. See economic integration.
Customs Union
Embracing mainstream international law, this section on customs union explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.
Customs Union and Europe
There is an entry on customs union in the European legal encyclopedia.
EU Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-General
This section provides an overview of eu taxation and customs union directorate-general within the legal context of International Tax Institutions in international economic law, with coverage of Architecture.
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See Also
- International Organization
- Foreign Relations
- Intergovernmental Organization
- Regional Organization
- Regional Integration
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See Also
Further Reading
- Entry “Customs Union” in the work “A Concise Encyclopedia of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein”, by Rodney Leach (Profile Books; London)
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Further Reading
- The entry “customs union” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press
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Notes and References
- Information about Customs Union in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Guide to Customs Union
Spanish Translation of customs unión
This is the legal translation of English to Spanish in relation to customs unión and / or a definition of this topic: Unión Aduanera (in Spanish, without translation of the dictionary entry).
Customs union and the Treaties of the European Union
Description of Customs union provided by the European Union Commission: The customs union is the essential element of the internal market. Its introduction was the primary objective after the signature of the Treaty of Rome and continued until 1968. The most important measures included:
• the elimination of all customs duties and restrictions among the Member States;
• the introduction of a common customs tariff (CCT), applicable throughout the European Community to third country goods (the income obtained as a result forming part of the Community’s own resources);
• the common commercial policy as an external dimension of the customs union (the Community speaks with one voice at international level).
Common procedures and rules were drawn up together with a Single Administrative Document (SAD) aimed at replacing the different documents previously used. With the entry into force of the single market in 1993, all routine checks at internal borders were abolished, as were customs formalities. Thus, the customs services of the Member States lost their responsibility for collecting excise duties, VAT and statistical data. The Community has concluded special agreements to facilitate trade, for example the agreement with the European Economic Area (EEA), and to encourage development by providing preferential access to European markets, for example the Lomé Convention, signed with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). Future challenges include promoting closer cooperation between the national administrations and combating fraud through the successive Customs 2002 and Customs 2007 programmes. A particular focus of Customs 2007 will be helping new Member States adapt their systems to open market conditions and implement customs controls at the new external borders of the European Union.
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See Also
Popular Treaties Topics
- Treaties of the United Nations (UN)
- Types of Treaties
- International Treaties
- Famous Treaties
- Law of Treaties
- Numbered Treaties
Customs union and the Treaties of the European Union
Description of Customs union provided by the European Union Commission: The customs union is the essential element of the internal market. Its introduction was the primary objective after the signature of the Treaty of Rome and continued until 1968. The most important measures included:
• the elimination of all customs duties and restrictions among the Member States;
• the introduction of a common customs tariff (CCT), applicable throughout the European Community to third country goods (the income obtained as a result forming part of the Community’s own resources);
• the common commercial policy as an external dimension of the customs union (the Community speaks with one voice at international level).
Common procedures and rules were drawn up together with a Single Administrative Document (SAD) aimed at replacing the different documents previously used. With the entry into force of the single market in 1993, all routine checks at internal borders were abolished, as were customs formalities. Thus, the customs services of the Member States lost their responsibility for collecting excise duties, VAT and statistical data. The Community has concluded s
pecial agreements to facilitate trade, for example the agreement with the European Economic Area (EEA), and to encourage development by providing preferential access to European markets, for example the Lomé Convention, signed with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). Future challenges include promoting closer cooperation between the national administrations and combating fraud through the successive Customs 2002 and Customs 2007 programmes. A particular focus of Customs 2007 will be helping new Member States adapt their systems to open market conditions and implement customs controls at the new external borders of the European Union.
Resources
See Also
Popular Treaties Topics
- Treaties of the United Nations (UN)
- Types of Treaties
- International Treaties
- Famous Treaties
- Law of Treaties
- Numbered Treaties
Customs Union and the GATT Policy Negotiations
In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of Customs Union: A group of countries that have agreed to eliminate barriers to trade among themselves while harmonizing their tariffs on imports from nonmember countries into a common external tariff. A customs union represents a level of economic cooperation intermediate between a free trade area and a more closely integrated common market. Unlike a common market, it does not provide for free movement of capital and labor among members.
Hierarchical Display of Customs union
Trade > Tariff policy > Tariff policy
International Relations > Cooperation policy > Cooperation policy > Customs cooperation
Trade > Tariff policy > Customs tariff
Economics > Economic policy > Economic policy > Economic integration
Economics > Economic structure > Economic system > Economic union
Trade > Trade policy > Common commercial policy
Customs union
Concept of Customs union
See the dictionary definition of Customs union.
Characteristics of Customs union
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Translation of Customs union
- Spanish: Unión aduanera
- French: Union douanière
- German: Zollunion
- Italian: Unione doganale
- Portuguese: União aduaneira
- Polish: Unia celna
Thesaurus of Customs union
Trade > Tariff policy > Tariff policy > Customs union
International Relations > Cooperation policy > Cooperation policy > Customs cooperation > Customs union
Trade > Tariff policy > Customs tariff > Customs union
Economics > Economic policy > Economic policy > Economic integration > Customs union
Economics > Economic structure > Economic system > Economic union > Customs union
Trade > Trade policy > Common commercial policy > Customs union
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