The Halfway Mark

While Europe's statesmen bickered over conflicting plans for political union, the Common Market last week passed the halfway mark in its drive for European economic unity. Racing 2 1/2 years ahead of its original program, which calls for reduction of internal customs barriers in three easy stages until they are abolished entirely by 1970, the Common Market's Council of Ministers voted unanimously in Brussels to start its second round of tariff cutting next July 1 instead of waiting until 1965. According to the accelerated schedule, which had been tentatively agreed upon in May 1960, customs duties between the six member nations will now be pared 10% on industrial goods and 5% on a variety of agricultural products, bringing these tariffs down to 50% of their 1957 levels.

At the same time, also 30 months ahead of schedule, the Council of Ministers decided to speed up adoption of uniform customs duties on goods from the rest of the world--indicating that the common tariff barrier, which will change present duties on most industrial and farm imports from the U.S.. will be in place by early 1967. Though it is one of the Kennedy Administration's top-priority goals to negotiate bilateral tariff cuts by that date, the recent U.S. decision to raise duties on imported woven carpets and window glass prompted the Common Market to take a step in the opposite direction. Warned the council: unless there is "modification or satisfactory arrangement" of the U.S. tariff boosts, it will slap retaliatory taxes on goods it now buys from the U.S.

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