Trade policy has its legal basis in Article 133 of the Treaty, which sets the objective "to contribute,.to the harmonious development of world trade, the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and the lowering of customs barriers".

S. whereas as a result of this process, which involves among other things the removal of barriers to international trade and the reduction of customs barriers, the common organisation of the market in certain products is being gradually dismantled,

In general, an outbreak of the disease immediately leads to restrictions on international trade in livestock and in products such as meat, milk and certain cheeses originating from the country affected.

As regards the objective of applying consistency in the levels of health protection, the Appellate Body found that the EU prohibition did not result in discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade and reversed the panel's finding that the SPS Agreement could be used to compare man-made and naturally occurring risks to human health.

The Council thus confirmed that the integration of the textiles and clothing trade in the GATT had to be achieved through stricter rules and greater discipline and invited the United States and the other partners, including exporting countries, to put forward offers which met the Community objective of tariff harmonization; - on the question of subsidies, the Council noted the amendments lodged by the Community in December 1992, confirming the guidelines followed by the Commission and asking it to continue its action in the light of the clarification given to date; - with regard to steel, the Council confirmed the February 1993 guideline in favour of the conclusion of a multilateral agreement as an effective way of producing a lasting and ...[+++] stable solution to the problem of international trade in steel; - with regard to aircraft construction, the Council confirmed the Community's wish to obtain a multilateral agreement on the basis of the principles of the bilateral agreement of 17 July 1992 concluded between the Community and the United States; - with regard to services, the Council recalled the scope of the offer made by the Community and its Member States and urged the Commission to press the third countries concerned to make offers that matched the Community's ambitions, particularly in the fields of shipping and financial services; - in the audiovisual field, the Council noted the Commission's confirmation that it would ensure that the section of the draft Final Act dealing with services was compatible with the Community Directive of 3 October 1989 and reiterated the need to preserve European cultural identities, without hindering normal international trade in this field; - with regard to the Multilateral Trade Organization (MTO), the Council recalled its conclusions of 20 September 1993 and confirmed that the objective to be achieved was the strengthening of the multilateral trade system and the exclusion of unilateralism; - finally, the Council noted the ...

Most fundamentally Article 110 of the Treaty makes clear that by establishing a customs union, and I quote: "Member States aim to contribute, in the common interest, to the harmonious development of world trade, the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and the lowering of customs barriers".