ABSTRACT
Trade with the countries of central and eastern Europe before the collapse of communist rule in 1989-90 was hampered by the lack of normal relations and by the inherent inefficiencies of command economies. The European Union (EU) has separate economic and cooperation agreements with India and Pakistan, and a cooperation agreement with the ten-nation Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). All Latin American countries benefit from the EU's system of generalised trade preferences. The external trading policy of the EU is based on the principle of free trade, so far as industrial products are concerned. The EU has signed association agreements with all Mediterranean countries except Syria. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Uruguay round agreement December 1993, this weighted average had fallen to around 3 per cent, and was set for further cuts under negotiations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which replaced the GATT in 1995. The EU applies a protectionist trade policy to agriculture Virtually.
