Tariffs, trade, and incomplete CAP reform

The original CAP’s high levels of border protection on many products involved a variable import levy bridging the gap between world prices and the EU’s much higher minimum import price. The Uruguay Round ended this, but tariffication also meant that subsequent CAP reforms reducing EU levels of domestic market price support would no longer trigger lower tariffs. Moreover the Doha Round’s plans for tariff cuts are in abeyance. The consequences are: i) for these products, only preferential sup¬pliers penetrate the EU’s protected market; ii) negotiation of Free Trade Areas is made more complicated; and iii) “Brexit” is problematic.