Trade · 6 pages · 12 min
The European Union pairs a customs union with a single market, shared rules, and institutions that bind members.
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The European Union is not only an agreement to charge less duty on each other's goods. It is a customs union with a common external tariff, plus a single market that removes barriers to goods, services, capital, and the movement of people, under law its institutions can adopt and enforce. The opening covers a common external tariff, four freedoms cross internal borders, and shared rules replace national stops.
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