European Union–Turkey Customs Union

The agreement came into effect on 31 December 1995, following a 6 March 1995 decision of the European Community–Turkey Association Council to implement a customs union (Turkish: Gümrük Birliği) between the two parties.

The Customs Union does not cover essential economic areas such as agriculture (to which bilateral trade concessions apply), services or public procurement.

In addition to providing for a common external tariff for the products covered, the Customs Union foresees that Turkey is to align to the acquis communautaire in several essential internal market areas, notably with regard to industrial standards.

[4] Turkey's membership of the customs union is recognised as having played a significant part in its economy's transition from agrarian to industrial.

In December 2016, the European Commission released an assessment proposing to update and modernize the agreement which includes services and public procurement.

[9] The report concluded with two options; Enhanced Commercial Framework (ECF) or Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).