Canadian Foreign Trade and the European Common Market

Abstract

March, 1957, a treaty designed to institute a European Economic Community (European Common Market) was signed in Rome by the representatives of six countries : Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Having been ratified by the respective parliaments before the end of last year, the treaty became operative as of January 1, 1958, and it represents the formal embodiment of persistent efforts to bring about a substantial degree of economic integration within Western Europe.1 During a transitional period of from twelve to fifteen years, the members have agreed to eliminate all customs duties, quantitative restrictions and other formal obstacles to trade among themselves and to bring about the free movement of productive resources (persons, services and capital), with a view to ensuring the harmonious distribution of these resources within the area. The planned outcome is the establishment of a customs union, with complete freedom of trade internally and a common tariff imposed by the six members against imports from the outside world. It has further been agreed that the non-European territories of Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands will be associated with the customs union, in order to further their economic and social development. The products of these territories are therefore to be accorded the same access to the common market as those of the six contracting parties. On the other hand, it has been conceded that these territories may require the continuing use of tariffs for fiscal purposes or to encourage economic development. They are therefore not obliged, by the end of the transitional period, to have abolished all their tariffs against the Six, but merely to have accomplished their uniform application against all members of the customs union. These parties are all members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the rules of which set forth the conditions