customs union
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to customs union: Common Market, Economic union
Customs union
An agreement by two or more countries to erect a common external tariff and to abolish restrictions on trade among members.
Copyright © 2012, Campbell R. Harvey. All Rights Reserved.
Customs Union
A market with the free movement of goods, services, labor, and capital between two or more jurisdictions. For example, even though Texas and Oklahoma are different places with different governments and regulations, the two have a customs union because workers do not need permission to move between them and one may transfer money between them without incurring any tariffs or fees. Most often, however, a customs union refers to a union between two or more countries, not regions within the same country. For example, the European Union is a customs union. See also: Free trade.
Farlex Financial Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All Rights Reserved
customs union
see TRADE INTEGRATION.Collins Dictionary of Business, 3rd ed. © 2002, 2005 C Pass, B Lowes, A Pendleton, L Chadwick, D O’Reilly and M Afferson
customs union
a form of TRADE INTEGRATION between a number of countries in which members eliminate all trade barriers (TARIFFS, etc.) amongst themselves on goods and services, and establish a uniform set of barriers against trade with the rest of the world, in particular a common external tariff. The aim of a customs union is to secure the benefits of international SPECIALIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE, thereby improving members’ real living standards. See GAINS FROM TRADE, TRADE CREATION, EUROPEAN UNION, MERCOSUR.Collins Dictionary of Economics, 4th ed. © C. Pass, B. Lowes, L. Davies 2005