Europe 1992: Views of Developing Countries

Abstract

Developing countries in particular saw customs unions among industrial countries as irrelevant. They were suppliers of non-competing products. The attitudes of both those in and those studying developing countries may have been reinforced by the limited effects of their own trading groups and by the emphasis on domestic policies, aid and capital movements, rather than trade. When the EC was smaller geographically and economically, fewer countries were affected, and by less. 'I 992' came at a time of growing concern about the growth of protection in the United States and the EC, and its apparent persistence inJapan. Changes in production techniques and persistent slow growth in world output led to fears of a new retreat towards the centre in economic production, leaving the developing countries 'marginalised'. (Little empirical evidence can in fact be found to support this, and it appears to be based on an analysis of international trade in terms of absolute, rather than comparative, advantage.) There was also an increased sensitivity to how 'internal' measures like subsidies, regional aids, and government procurement could have external impacts as great as or greater than more traditional tariff on non-tariff barriers. The SEM was itself predicated upon the importance of such measures for intra-EC trade. It aimed at improving the performance of the European' economy relative to the rest of the world by international regulation of such 'internal' measures to increase the efficiency of production and markets in Europe. The change in perceptions was particularly important for the more advanced developing countries, the Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs) and those hoping to follow their success. Exports had been identified as a major element