The EU imposes on itself de facto internal tariffs equivalent to 44%.

Omissions

• The MEP did not specify that the 44% figure refers exclusively to goods/manufacturing trade; intra-EU services trade barriers are estimated by the same IMF research at 110%.
• The MEP presented the 44% as a settled fact rather than as an economic model estimate that has been debated in academic circles (e.g., CEPR and Bocconi IEP have published critiques questioning the methodology).
• No source (IMF) was cited for the figure, leaving the audience without the ability to assess the original context, caveats, or the distinction between goods and services.

Sources

• PrimaryInternational Monetary Fund (IMF)Our estimates suggest that these barriers might be as high as a tariff equivalent of about 44 percent on average for goods trade—three times the equivalent for cross-Atlantic trade.
• PrimaryEuropean Central Bank (ECB) Economic BulletinPrevious findings by the IMF (2024) estimated intra-EU trade barriers at 44% for the manufacturing sector.
• SecondaryCEPR (VoxEU)The IMF estimates that the internal barriers within the Single Market are equivalent to a 45% tariff on goods. And a 110% tariff on services. [...] The 45% equivalent tariff figure is a model-based estimate of trade costs, not an actual tariff.
• SecondaryBocconi Institute for European Policymaking (IEP)The IMF's estimate—suggesting internal EU trade barriers amount to a 44% tariff—cited even by Mario Draghi in an FT article lacks solid analytical foundations.