EU Member States’ National Quotas: a Political Economy Approach

Up to 1993, EC member states could ask permission from the Commission of the EC to apply quantitative restrictions at their national borders, on the basis of art. 115 of the Treaty establishing the EC. The completion of the internal market in the EC abolished the internal borders, as a result of which the national quantitative restrictions became obsolete. We assume that the pressure on member states’ governments to apply these trade restrictions has not disappeared with the abolishment of the internal borders. For that reason we analyze the factors that may explain the member states’ wish to use the opportunity of art. 115. We use the political economy approach to trade policy. This approach has been introduced as traditional economics was not able to explain the widespread use of trade barriers by policy-makers. By taking into account the specific position of politicians and policy-makers, and the role of trade policy in the decision-making process with respect to social and economic policies, a better explanation of trade policy may be obtained.