When the European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union was formed in 1958, it was agreed that the new integration would be a tariff union with common tariffs toward third countries, but also that it would have a common foreign trade policy. As the Union's executive body, the European Commission is responsible for proposing and implementing foreign trade policies. However, the main subject in creating foreign trade policies still remains the Council of Ministers as the EU's main decision-making and legislative body. The Commission negotiates trade agreements with outside countries on behalf of the Union. However, on foreign trade issues the Commission must report to a committee (the "133 Committee"), which assists the Commission in the course of the negotiations and before becoming valid all agreements must be ratified by the Council of Ministers. The Commission ensures that the European Parliament is kept quickly and fully informed at all stages of the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements, in such a way as to enable the Commission to take account of the European Parliament's view, but its role is purely consultative. The EU is trying to establish closer partnership relations with the USA through establishing transatlantic marketplace. However, as the EU is becoming a respectable economic power, an increasing number of trade disputes arise between the EU and the USA. The EU is trying to establish a closer relationship with the European countries since they are candidate countries for EU membership. However, some of them are closer to the membership than others. Therefore the agreements that the EU conclude with certain groups of countries differ among themselves. The EU has special relations with the countries in Africa the Caribbean and the Pacific, former European colonies, that have been granted a preferential treatment allowing preferential trade with the EU. Close relations have been established with countries and regional groups in Latin America as well. The EU has become a significant factor in international economic organizations. However, in order to become an economic power as respectable as the USA and Japan and to give strategic support to its companies in global competition, the EU must integrate politically as well.