What economic unions exist? List of international economic unions

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Any type of organization in which countries agree to coordinate their trade and monetary policies with other countries is called economic integration. Obviously there are many different degrees of integration.

• Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). The PTA agreement is perhaps the most basic form of economic integration. PTA generally offers partner rate reductions in certain product categories.
• Free Trade Area (FTA). It is created when a group of countries eliminates tariffs among themselves, but retains an external tariff on imports from other states. An example of the creation of an FTA is the NAFTA agreement, which implies zero tariffs on automobile imports between the US and Mexico. However, for member countries that are not part of NAFTA, there are other established tariffs in the field of automotive imports in Mexico.
• Customs Union. It occurs when a group of countries eliminates tariffs between their countries, but imposes a common tariff on imports from the rest of the world.
• OneEconomic Union. The single market provides for trade at optimal tariffs, establishes common external tariffs among members, and also creates advantages for the free movement of money between countries. The European Union was created as a single common market under the Treaty of Rome in 1975
• Economic union. Economic unions of countries, as a rule, support free trade in goods, establish common external tariffs between members, and determine the conditions for the free movement of capital. The European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is an example of the type of financial coordination of the indicative economic community.
• Monetary union. The key to creating a common currency among a group of countries is the Monetary Union, which includes the formation of the main financial body that determines monetary policy for the entire group.

The beginning of the path of the EurAsEC

The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization based on regional economic integration and international organization. This means that the decisions of its bodies (the Eurasian Economic Council, the Economic Commission and the Economic Court) become the norms of international law.

The territory of the Eurasian Union (EurAsEC) covers more than 20 million km² (15% of the earth's land), with a population of 183 million people living within the commonwe alth.

The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union provides for the coordination of agricultural activities,industry, energy; general sanitary and technical standards. By creating commonwe alths of economic organizations, it is planned to create a common market for pharmaceuticals by 2016;

History remembers examples of the transformation of international economic organizations into political or even military alliances, a good example of this is the economic community of West African states. Not much time has passed since its inception, when its focus shifted from commercial projects to military operations within the borders of commonwe alth countries.

Friendship of peoples above all

December 22, 2014 was marked by the exchange of instruments of ratification on good neighborly and allied relations between Russia and Kazakhstan. The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union does not cancel the previous agreement on economic and political cooperation signed between the countries in 1992, on the contrary, it supplements and expands the scope of interaction and allows the implementation of both plans in parallel.

The organization is open to any state that is ready to share the goals and conditions prescribed in the treaty between states. At the end of 2014, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan also joined the Union.

It is worth noting that President Putin paid a business visit to Uzbekistan, where the conditions for the country's entry into the Eurasian Union were discussed. The speaker of the Federal Assembly of Russia said that consultations are being held on possible accessionTajikistan to the Eurasian Economic Union.

Cause of EurAsEC CU

The EurAsEC Customs Union (CU) came into full force in January 2010 as the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, followed by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan a little later.

The Customs Economic Union was formed as the beginning of the economic union of the republics formerly part of the USSR. Thus, the member states continue the path of economic integration by removing customs borders between themselves. At the end of 2014, the Eurasian Economic Union was created on the basis of the CU, which is a common monetary area to encourage further economic integration.

EurAsEC CU Member States: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia.

Documents signed in 1995, 1999 and 2007 serve to regulate and enshrine the Customs Union with regulatory rights. The Common Economic Space is intended to control the document of 2007, the first regulates the creation of the CU, the second - its formation.

CU Regulations

Technical regulations, the approval of which is the basis for joining the CU:

- National Product Certificates.

- Certificates of the Customs Union, issued in accordance with the document, which contains a list of products subject to mandatory confirmation of conformity. This certificate is valid in all countries of the Customs Union.

- Growth rates of external turnover and mutual trade of the CU. Singlethe customs code is regulated by the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Department of Statistics.

Economic unions often seek to import and export only those goods that are profitable in a certain economic zone. An example of this is TS. Only goods that qualify as "CU goods" can be freely imported/exported within the designated territory. In accordance with Article 4 of the Customs Code, goods acquire such status in the following cases:

- Products manufactured within the borders of the Customs Union.

- Products, goods released for domestic consumption with the payment of customs duties prescribed in the contract.

- Products that meet both conditions: produced within the borders of the Customs Union for the purpose of domestic consumption.

Products that do not meet the criteria for goods of the CU, for which no relevant documents have been presented in order to determine the purpose of the goods of the CU, must go through the procedure of a single customs duty within the borders of the CU.

Other economic unions of Russia

- APEC. Economic cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 to unite the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. APEC is a forum for 21 states. The goal of the Commonwe alth for a long time remains the establishment of markets for products, raw materials and materials outside of Europe. Experts believe that AETS was created in response to the growing economy of industrialized Japan, which is able to dominate the AsianPacific region. However, the commonwe alth is strategically important primarily for its member states, as it helps to coordinate economic activity between interdependent countries.

- CIS. Interaction between some countries of the former USSR on the basis of sovereign equality is based on the agreement of the Commonwe alth of Independent States (CIS). At the moment, the CIS includes the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The agreement was signed in 1991.

- BRICS. BRICS brings together 5 major emerging economies of the following countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Prior to being incorporated into South Africa, the organization was known as BRIC. All countries included in the composition have a fast-growing economy, have a significant impact on regional and global changes.

By the end of 2014, BRICS reached 3 billion people, or 40% of the world's population.

The Commonwe alth was founded in 2006 as part of the St. Petersburg Forum of Economic Ministers of Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China. The first meeting was held in 2009 in Yekaterinburg. The meetings discuss issues of mutual partnership, loans, natural environment and ecology.

On the path of the Maastricht Treaty

The European Economic Union (EU) is an economic and political federation of twenty-seven member countries that share a common policy inseveral areas. The EU was created in 1993 with the signing of the European Union Treaty, commonly referred to as the Maastricht Treaty. However, this was preceded by the creation of several European organizations that contributed to the development of the EU.

The EU originally consisted of 12 states: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, France, Spain and the UK. In 1993, the European Council, meeting in Copenhagen (Denmark), determined the criteria for joining the EU. These requirements, known as the Copenhagen Criteria, include bases such as:

• a stable democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law;
• functioning market competitive economy;
• acceptance of obligations arising from membership, including EU law.

EU developments after 1993

The EU has tripled in size since its inception. In 1995, 3 new members joined: Austria, Finland and Sweden. In 2004, 10 new members joined the EU, mostly from the former Soviet bloc: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, M alta, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 2007, Romania and Bulgaria, which did not meet the 2004 accession criteria, were admitted and admitted to the Union. In 2013, the list was supplemented by the State of Croatia.

One of the goals of the EU is economic and monetary union, which implies the creation of a common European currency. International trade within the boundaries of a common currencyzones will greatly contribute to the creation of a single market, complete with uniform pricing and regulation of national markets. The creation of a single market can stimulate increased competition among niche products and facilitate corporate financing relationships, in particular, international trade between members of the single currency area. Finally, in the long term, the creation of a common trading and monetary space should simplify European corporate structures to regulate all regulatory acts to a homogeneous one.

Euro

Economic unions often aim to unite the economies of their countries. Optimal management of economic activity in one currency area can be achieved through the introduction of a single currency; such convergence will create greater uniformity between different national economies. Conditions set for the introduction of the euro and the creation of a single currency:

1. Maintaining international exchange rates within a given range (exchange rate mechanism or ERM) for a period of at least two years prior to the introduction of the euro.
2. Maintaining long-term interest rates.
3. Control public debt within limits.
4. Maintaining total government debt at no more than 60% of gross domestic product.

EU structure

The European Economic Union includes 4 administrative bodies that deal with specific areaseconomic and political activities.

1. Council of Ministers. Consists, as a rule, of representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs of the EU member states. The Council of Ministers of Europe has the right of final decision on all issues that do not fall under the terms of fixed treaties created in the EU or its predecessor organization. The Council of Ministers approves the Committee of Observers, resolves issues related to relations between the EU countries in the following areas: management, agriculture, fisheries, industrial policy and the internal market, scientific research, energy, transport, ecology.

2. European Commission. Economic unions of states, as a rule, form expert bodies to resolve financial issues. The European Commission acts as such an executive body of the EU. It aims to serve the interests of Europe as a whole in matters of external relations, economics, finance, industry and agricultural policy.

3. European Parliament. Includes representatives of EU member states who are directly elected in their countries. Although it serves as a forum for discussing issues of interest to individual Member States and the EU as a whole, the European Parliament has no power to create or implement legislation. It does, however, have some control over the EU budget and can bring matters to the Council of Ministers or the European Commission.

4. Court. Any economic unions must have a legal basis, the EU is no exception. The court consists of 13 judges and 6lawyers representing EU Member States. Its function is to interpret laws and regulations, decisions made are binding on the EU, Member State governments, firms and individuals in EU Member States.

International Economic Unions

- WTO/GATT. The fundamental regulation among 153 countries is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Reduction of tariffs, elimination of barriers, unbiased tax and customs policy towards each other - these are the main goals of the agreement, which was signed in 1947

- UNCAD. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is a representative body of the United Nations (United Nations) General Assembly that deals with economic development, trade and investment. The main goal of the organization is to help less developed countries integrate into the world economic market.

- NAFTA. Largest North American Free Trade Area between the United States, Canada and Mexico from 1994

- ASEAN. The political and economic community of the countries of Southeast Asia, which is rapidly developing today, is represented by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The agreement has been signed by the following countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam. ASEAN's goals are aimed at accelerating economic growth, protecting national interests, peace and stability; providingopportunities through legal bodies to resolve conflicts peacefully.