Benelux, << BEHN uh luhks, >> is an economic union formed by Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The term Benelux is made up of the first letters in each country’s name. Benelux was organized in 1948 to create a common foreign trade policy by permitting the free movement of goods, workers, services, and capital between the countries.
Benelux began as a customs union. The members abolished custom duties among themselves and set a single external tariff. By 1956, over 95 per cent of trade among the countries was free from all controls. An economic union was created by the Benelux Treaty in 1958, and came into force in 1960. The treaty made Benelux a single trading unit in January 1961, when trading with outside countries.
