CONFIDENTIAL
Annex II
Yaoundé Convention
The provisions of the Convention can be summarised under
three headings: trading arrangements, financial and technical
assistance, and institutional mechanisms.
Trade
2. The Association is essentially an economic arrangement,
and the provisions for trade are the backoone of the system.
Theoretically the Association aims to establish a series of
free trade areas between the Community on the one nand and each
of the Associates separately on the other, providing for the
elimination of tariffs and other oarriers to trade pe tween them.
But there are important provisions permitting associates to
maintain tariffs and other barriers to trade against EEC
countries in certain circumstances (described below). Further-
Decause the arrangement is basically a series of free
trade areas and not a customs union, the associates are allowed
to retain their own tariffs against third countries, including
each other, and they are not required to adopt the Communities'
common external tariff.
3. Under the first Convention, which ran from 1964 to
1969 all the EEC countries were required to remove oy stages
their customs tariffs and other restrictions on imports from
the associates other than those applying to those agricultural
products which are, or will be, covered by the Communities'
common agricultural policy. All EEC countries' tariffs on
(non-agricultural) imports from the existing associates mad
/been.
CONFIDENTI AL