International Commerce and the European Union

Flashcards covering vocabulary from lecture notes on international commerce and the European Union.

International Commerce

The exchange of goods and services between countries, serving as a key driver of economic development by enabling specialization and access to products otherwise difficult to obtain.

Economic Liberalism

Advocates for free commerce without barriers, allowing countries to exchange goods and services without restrictions like tariffs or import quotas, benefiting all through specialization.

Protectionism

An economic policy that seeks to protect national industry from foreign competition through measures like tariffs, subsidies, import quotas, and strict technical and sanitary norms.

Tariffs

Taxes imposed on imported products to make them more expensive and favor national production, potentially leading to trade retaliation and higher consumer prices.

Economic Integration

The process of uniting markets with the objective of forming more competitive and efficient supranational economic spaces.

Trade Preferential

A basic form of economic integration where two or more countries agree to partially reduce tariffs and trade barriers on certain products without completely eliminating them.

ACP States

A group of developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that have established economic and trade relations with the European Union to promote their development.

Free Trade Area

A level of economic integration where member countries eliminate tariffs and restrictions on trade among themselves, allowing free circulation of goods and services within the bloc, while maintaining individual trade policies with external countries.

Customs Union

A level of economic integration where countries eliminate tariffs between them and adopt a common commercial policy towards third countries, applying the same tariffs and customs regulations to imports from outside the bloc.

Common Market

An advanced phase of integration that includes the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital, but does not necessarily involve the harmonization of economic policies or the adoption of a common currency.

Economic Union

A Common Market where, in addition to the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital, the member countries also share a common currency and coordinate economic and monetary policies.

Economic Integration

An advanced level in which monetary and fiscal policies are unified under a supranational authority.

EFTA (European Free Trade Association)

An intergovernmental organization promoting free trade and economic cooperation among member countries, offering an alternative to deeper integrations like the EU.