We find robust evidence for adverse effects of regulatory heterogeneity on intra-EU trade in the pre-harmonization period, which questions the implementation of the Cassis de Dijon principle. Our findings also suggest that the EU’s MRL harmonization may have improved access for non-EU, including non-OECD, exporters to the Common Market.
Trade is indispensable to fostering greater levels of global economic development. As the OECD has written, “No country has lifted itself out of poverty without international trade.” This category consolidates GTIPA-member reports assessing the intersection of trade and economic development.
