customs union

American  

noun

1. an association of independent nations or tariff areas created to remove customs barriers between them and to adopt a uniform tariff policy toward nonmember nations.

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customs union British  

noun

1. an association of nations which promotes free trade within the union and establishes common tariffs on trade with nonmember nations

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Example Sentences

Big steps would be to create a customs union with the EU, getting rid of barriers to trade in goods, or joining the EU single market.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

The EU earlier this month signed a free-trade agreement with the four South American countries that founded the Mercosur customs union, and last year it announced a trade and investment deal with Indonesia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

The plan worked better than expected, and what began in 1951 as a six-country European customs union covering coal and steel evolved over decades into the EU.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

Speaking in Parliament, the Liberal Democrats' Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton told MPs his customs union bill would "cut red tape, unlock investment and restore certainty to British business".

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

The colonies of British Bechuanaland and Basutoland were now taken into the customs union existing between the Orange Free State and Cape Colony.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various