01_development_and_concepts

MANAGEMENT

Failure of Deeper Trade Integration (2)

•The EU first systematically took up the removal of technical barriers in 1969 with its ‘General Programme’

•This launched what came to be called the ‘traditional’ or ‘old’ approach to TBT liberalisation.

•Although the practice was far from the principle, the old approach strived for total harmonisation of national standards and regulations. As such, the old approach relied on detailed technical regulations for single products or groups of products implemented by unanimously agreed directives of the European Council

•Once adopted, such directives supplanted national laws, regulations and standards.

•The resulting liberalisation was disappointing. The main failing was that harmonisation proceeded much more slowly than the development of new national TBTs.

MANAGEMENT

Deeper Circles: The Single Market Programme and EEA

•In 1985, EU firms enjoyed duty-free access to each other's markets, however they certainly did not enjoy free trade.

•Intra-EC trade was shackled by a long list of tradeinhibiting barriers such as differing technical standards and industrial regulations, capital controls, preferential public procurement, administrative and frontier formalities, VAT and excise tax rate differences and differing transport regulations, to mention just a few barriers.

MANAGEMENT

EC 92

•1985 White Paper that listed 300 measures necessary to transform the Common Market into the Single Market; a deadline of the end of 1992 was specified. Main economic policy changes are:

–Goods Trade Liberalisation

–Streamlining or eliminating border formalities,

–Liberalisation of government procurement

–Harmonisation and mutual recognition of technical standards in production, packaging and marketing

–Harmonisation of Value Added Tax rates

–Factor Trade Liberalization

–Increased capital market integration,

–Liberalisation of cross-border market-entry policies, including mutual recognition of approval by national regulatory agencies