The fragmentation of the European single market costs businesses the equivalent of a 44% tariff on goods and a 110% tariff on services within the single market.

Omissions

• The figures are IMF staff estimates of trade costs (based on 2020 data), often framed as upper bounds ('as high as' / 'up to') rather than precise measurements.
• Some economists dispute the interpretation: a CEPR VoxEU column argues the EU does not 'impose' such tariffs on itself, noting the estimate conflates regulatory barriers with tariffs and that US internal trade costs are also significant.
• The goods figure is sometimes rounded to 45% in public commentary (e.g., VoxEU, Silicon Continent), while the IMF's own number is 'about 44%'.
• The 110% services figure is attributed to IMF staff research (Adilbish et al., 2025) and is cited by the ECB Economic Bulletin.

Sources

• PrimaryIMF - Europe's Choice: Policies for Growth and Resilience (Georgieva)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 higher than within the United States.
• PrimaryECB Economic Bulletin - What is the untapped potential of the EU Single Market?For services, trade costs remain significantly higher. Adilbish et. al (2025) estimate a tariff equivalent of 110% for services, underscoring the scale of remaining barriers.
• SecondaryCaixaBank Research - How far has the EU progressed on the Competitiveness Compass?The IMF estimates that internal barriers in the EU are equivalent to tariffs of 44% for goods (compared to 15% in the US) and of up to 110% for services.
• SecondaryCEPR VoxEU - No, the EU does not impose a 45% tariff on itselfThe IMF estimates that the internal barriers within the Single Market are equivalent to a 45% tariff on goods. And a 110% tariff on services.