ABSTRACT
In 1982 the European Communities set themselves the goal of achieving the completion of the internal market by the end of 1992. The Commission proposed a series of measures in 1985 to eliminate non-tariff barriers, including measures to remove border controls, to harmonize indirect taxes, and to harmonize the national regulations and administrative controls governments’ impose on a wide range of goods and services. Non-tariff barriers can cause similar effects to tariffs and quotas. They can cause the prices of imported goods and services to be raised, as a tariff does, or they can restrict access to the domestic market in the manner of a quota. Thus, domestic producers are given protection from foreign competition. The result may be higher prices for the consumer than would occur with free competition and a less efficient structure for industry than would otherwise be the case. One means by which a government can impose a non-tariff barrier is by means of regulations and administrative provisions. Separate regulations for different national markets can raise costs for importers, whilst the time taken to gain national product approvals or registrations can act as a quota. In the construction industry, regulations and administrative provisions of this nature are probably the major non-tariff barrier encountered.
