Tariffs are trade policy control instruments used by States to protect or promote domestic branches of the economy. Tariffs are always a hindrance to trade and are therefore the first things to be scrutinised when what is at issue is to create a sufficiently large economic area beyond the boundaries of a country. As a source of revenue tariffs may sometimes seem very attractive to States, but they can also conserve entrenched structures or give rise to sudden economic disadvantages. Accordingly, the abolition of tariffs is high on the agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In the run-up to the next round of world trade talks currently being prepared for in Qatar, the European Union is trying to gauge which tariffs are negotiable and which not. In the context of that appraisal the EU Commission has also indicated that the 6 percent import tariff on aluminium is basically negotiable, the possible actions being either to reduce the tariff or even eliminate it completely. In this way the EU Commission has signalled that the pressures brought to bear by aluminium producers in the Gulf States, Canada and other countries is having an effect.
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