This study examines the purpose and process of EC integration and analyzes EC trade barriers. In particular, it attempts to study the likely effects of EC 1992 on Asia, giving implications for the Korea-EC trade policy.

This paper is organized as follows. Section II presents the content and processes of EC 1992 and predicts the likely economic effect of EC integration.

Section III points out trade barriers, especially for Asia, by introducing EC intra-preferential trade agreements and comparing those of non-EC advanced countries. Section IV analyzes how EC 1992 affects countries in other regions and predicts the post-1992 direction of EC trade policies. Section V analyzes the cause of Korea's trade friction with the EC and suggests some countermeasures for making inroads into the EC market. Summary and policy implications are provided in Section VI.