Lecture Notes: Free Movement of Goods

Introduction to Free Movement of Goods

• Focus on the free movement of goods within the EU.
• Found in Title II, Part III of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
• Two key areas:
  • Organization and purpose of free movement of goods.
  • Prohibitions (negative integration) within the treaty.

Customs Union

• Defined by Article 28 of the TFEU.
• Customs Union:
  • Free movement of goods between member states.
  • Common external tariff applied to goods originating outside the EU.
• Goods can enter through any member state and be treated equally.

Article 29 Clarification

• Defines when goods are in "free circulation."
• Conditions for goods from third countries:
  • Import formalities completed.
  • Customs duties and equivalent charges paid.
  • No partial or full drawback on these duties.

Definition of Goods

• Good is an object that can be commercially transacted (Art Treasures Case).
• Examples of borderline cases:
  • Lottery tickets and fishing licenses are not considered goods.
  • Non-tangible items (e.g., video game collectibles) often not goods.

Treaty Regulation

• Prohibits state measures that regulate international trade unnaturally.
• Types of Prohibited Measures:
  1. Customs Duties:
     • Direct surcharge to make foreign goods more expensive.
  2. Quantitative Restrictions:
     • Limits on supply to increase prices.
• Equivalent effect measures also prohibited.

Articles in TFEU

• Article 30: Prohibits customs duties and charges of equivalent effect.
• Article 34: Prohibits quantitative restrictions and equivalent measures.

Focus on Import Situations

• Main focus: Import control.
• Export rules mentioned where they differ from import rules.

Conclusion

• Overview of customs union and key prohibitions.
• Further exploration of financial and quantitative restrictions in following videos.