06/14/05

The Customs Policy of the European Union is an essential element of the single market. We can say, thus, that all the member states of the European Union form what we call a "customs union”. This means that all of these member countries have applied a common external tariff on imports from outside the EU and a have unified their commercial policies toward goods coming from other non-EU countries. Once an imported good clears customs in the EU, it moves freely throughout the full customs territory.

The Customs Union is an essential element of the European Union's four basic freedoms: the free circulation of goods, persons, services and capital. This single market with over 450 million consumers is the largest in the industrialized world. This single market with no internal economic frontiers is the catalyst for the economic integration of the European Union.

The main custom and community aims of the EU are:

• To foster world trade.
• To promote fair trade.
• To increase the attractiveness of the EU as a location for industry and trade and contribute to the creation of new jobs.
• To promote development elsewhere.
• To assist the candidates for accession in their future role.
• To ensure protection for the Community's citizens and business in all areas involving imports or exports in a clear, uniform, simple way as efficiently as possible.
• To 'ring fence' the single market, securing the maximum benefit from it for everybody.
• To facilitate a practical system to collect revenue, customs duties, VAT and excise duties.
• To collect essential statistics on trade.

Examples