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Western Europe
World Empire
•
the
Making
The greatest economic power in history is now
being welded together by Europe's
Common
Ma r–
ket. lts impact
-
enormous and far-reaching
wi/1 change the face of the whole earth.
J
ANUARY
1, 1973 may well becomc
a milestone in modern hiscory.
On rhac date, if all goes as
planned, there will come inco effecc a
commercial !cague of 16 Wesrern
Europcan nations bound more rightly
rogether than evcr before in rhar con–
rinenr's rroublcd and divided past.
Only Spain - because of ics lingering
Franco semidiccarorship - wiU be
excluded, ar leasr for che time being.
from che new "Grearer Europe.··
New Free Trade Area
Ten of che narions involved will be
full parrners in che Europcan Eco–
nomic Communiry. or Common
Markec - che original six of France,
Iraly. Wesr Germany, Belgium, che
1
erherlands and Luxembourg, plus
new members Brirain. lreland, Nor–
way and Denmark.
Now six addicional Wescern Euro–
pcan countries are expecced, ar che
samc rime.
ro
align rhemselves wirh
che Ten ro form a new European
·•free trade arca."
The six
Austria. Swirzerland,
2
by
Gene
H. Hogberg
Portugal, Sweden, Finland and lce–
land - are presendy mcmbers or asso–
ciare members of che compering
Europcan Free Trade Associarion,
which was al! but dissolved when
lcadíng member Brícain bolced ro che
EEC. Under che rerms of new free
rrade agreemenrs wíth che Commu–
niry, signed in July, che síx will assure
themselves of much of che economic
benefirs of Common Marker member–
ship. But rhey will nor be able
ro
participare in che crade bloc's deci–
sion-making proccsses - in orher
words. economics. bur nor )'et polirícs.
Three T imes
U. S.
T rade
The rrcaries providc for che elimi–
narion of rariffs on industrial goods in
che 16-narion arca in one-ycar scages.
with rnosr of che barriers falling by
July
l,
1977.
After thac date, almosr
any arricle manufacrurcd in any one
of rhe 16 counrries will be sold duty
free in any of che orhcrs. A 17th
counrry, ríny Liechrensrein, will also
be includcd. being parr of Swirter–
land's tradín_g arca.
A car built in ftaly, for example,
no longer will be subject ro duty in
Sweden. and vice versa. But an Amer–
ican car, or one built in Canada or
Japan , will be subjecc
ro
caritT in any
of che European countries.
As
a
whole, che 16 nations. con–
r:~ining
approximarely
300
million
pcrsons. already do an annual trade of
$275.000.000.000.
This is rhree rimes
as much as rhe Uniced Starcs crade -
and is rwice as much as that of che
Unircd Srares, rhe Soviet Union and
Japan combined. Approximarely
43<Jf
of che world's export eraJe is under
che conrrol of che 'ew Europe.
Even chis ís nor rhe whole srory.
Worldwide Tie-ups
The European Economic Commu–
nity - or more simply, Europcan
Community - is
fase
becoming che
nucleus of what is desrined ro be che
first trulr global trading cmpire.
pecial "preferencial cradc agree–
men ts" are rying rhe Brussds-based
Communiry ro nations around rhc
world.
PLAIN TRUTH September·October 1972