THE EC AND PROTECTION - THE POLITICAL-ECONOMY

This paper surveys the arguments that the creation of the EC has incre ased world protectionism relative to what it would otherwise have been . Models of tariff bargaining between trade blocks suggest some increa se, because the optimum tariff is higher for larger blocks, but this i s not inevitable. Models of EC decision-taking suggest an increase bec ause of the restaurant-bill problem and the tendency of committees tow ards universalism. The evidence is not enough, however, to be certain that a protectionist effect exists.