The majority of the German states were members by 1866. The existence of the German Empire was made possible by the implementation of a new trade bloc, the German Customs Union of 1834. Its last formal meeting was in 1669 although it was not officially disbanded until 1871 with the creation of the German Empire. This trade bloc began to lose power in the late 16th Century due to increased trading of English, Roman, Dutch, and Ottoman Empire merchants. It was implemented to protect the economic interests and political privileges of North European merchant associations. The Hanseatic League of the late 12th Century was one of the earliest documented trade blocs.
The most well-known examples of major trade blocs seen around the world today include the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). To encourage trade among member states, tariffs, taxes, and other trade barriers among them are often reduced or abolished. The agreement is entered into as a means of protecting member nations from excessive imports of non-member nations.
A trade bloc is a trade agreement among governments that are typically within a shared geographical region.