ABSTRACT
The ultimate aims of the EU are not agreed on by all the Member States. Since its foundation, much of the debate and legislation has been devoted to the gradual establishment of a customs union, the outstanding feature of which has been the creation of a common tariff for the twelve Member States in their trade with the rest of the world and the elimination of all barriers to trade within the Community. By contrast, a Free Trade Area focuses only on the reduction of internal barriers. The external tariff barrier has been particularly influential in protecting agriculture in the EU through the Common Agricultural Policy, but quotas and tariffs have also been variously applied to imports of
manufactured goods. Although freer trade worldwide would seem to be in the interest of the EU, some Member States have been reluctant to accept measures proposed by GATT to cut support to some sectors of the economy. In December 1993, however, the Uruguay Round was concluded, leading to further liberalisation of trade world-wide in a wide range of goods and services, a development regarded by many as of particular benefit to the EU.
