Customs Union , CU - agreement of two or more states (form of interstate agreement) on the abolition of customs duties on trade between them, a form of collective protectionism from third countries. The Customs Union also provides for the formation of a "single customs territory."
Typically, the member countries of the customs union agree on the creation of interstate bodies that coordinate the implementation of a coherent foreign trade policy. As a rule, this consists in holding periodic meetings of ministers governing the relevant departments, which in their work rely on a permanent interstate Secretariat.
In fact, this is a form of interstate integration , which implies the creation of supranational bodies. In this regard, the customs union is a much more advanced form of integration than, for example, a free trade zone .
Examples of customs unions
- The German Customs Union is a former alliance of German states of the 19th century who agreed to abolish all customs barriers between themselves, and from the duties levied on the borders of the territory of the Union, form a common cash desk, with the distribution of its income among the participants, according to the number of inhabitants.
- The European Union Customs Union is the Customs Union of the European Union and a number of other countries, an important component of the common market.
- The Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union is a form of trade and economic integration of Armenia , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan and Russia within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Community .
- The South African Customs Union is a trade and economic union of the countries of South Africa.
- East African Community
- Andean community
- Mercosur
See also
- Trade block
- Free trading zone
- Economic union
- Benelux
- Currency union
- European Union
- European Economic Community
- Common Economic Space
Literature
- Pokrovsky V.I. Customs Union // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.