The IMF calculated that remaining barriers in the EU single market act like a tariff of 44% on goods and 110% on services.

Omissions

• The 44% figure is sometimes reported as 45% for goods in secondary sources (e.g., CEPR VoxEU), but the IMF's own publications consistently use 44%.
• The IMF estimate has been criticised by some economists (e.g., CEPR VoxEU, Bocconi IEP) who argue that the methodology overstates the actual cost of internal EU trade barriers and that comparing them to literal tariffs is misleading.
• The estimate captures the total cost of trading across EU borders relative to trading within a single country — it is not a measure of 'remaining' barriers specifically attributable to incomplete single market integration, though that is the typical framing.
• The ECB Economic Bulletin (2026) notes that alternative estimates using different trade elasticities yield a figure closer to 115% for services rather than 110%.

Sources

• PrimaryIMF Finance & Development – Europe's Integration ImperativeHigh trade barriers within Europe are equivalent to an ad valorem cost of 44 percent for manufactured goods and 110 percent for services, IMF research shows.
• PrimaryIMF – Europe's Choice: Policies for Growth and Resilience (Speech)For services, these estimates barriers are even steeper, equivalent to a 110 percent tariff.
• SecondaryReuters – Tariffs could be the spur Europe's single market needsThe International Monetary Fund has estimated EU internal barriers are the equivalent of tariffs of 44% for goods and 110% for services.