With the membership of the EU, Finland became part of the Community Customs Union, where
- in mutual trade, customs duties have been abolished
- the rules of origin do not apply
- third countries are subject to a common customs tariff and a common commercial policy
- trade in and other exchanges of Community goods are governed by internal market rules.
The principle of free movement between the Member States of the Communities has been implemented, covering goods, transport, financial services, capital, information and audiovisual services and the movement of people.
The free movement of goods is achieved through the abolition of customs frontiers and the abolition of frontier taxation; in addition, product regulations and standards will be harmonized. EU directives are a key starting point for uniform regulations, and product manufacturers need to know the content of the regulations.
National regulations are mutually recognized: a product legally manufactured and placed on the market in one Member State must be allowed to be marketed freely in other Member States, and the results of product inspections are also mutually recognized.
Although information on new technical regulations and standards is exchanged, the internal market is still far from the target home market.
Looking at customs volumes, more than 70% of Finland’s foreign trade is with European Union member states. Finland’s membership in the EU has drastically reduced the number of import and export customs duties. In the EU, we only talk about buying and selling in domestic trade.