Just after World War II, the idea spread across Europe that protecting the economy could slow down expansion. Europeans therefore sought to gradually reduce the numerous trade restrictions established during the 1930s.

The analysis focuses primarily on the policy of opening French and German markets to imports from 1949 onwards. It traces not only the stages and methods of tariff and quota disarmament but also the objectives and controversies within national administrations.

The work shows that the differences in attitudes between a protectionist France and a more liberal Germany overlap with other divides, particularly within the French administrations. It also reveals little-known convergences of views between French and German industrialists regarding the necessary protection of certain sensitive sectors and the long-standing preference for a contractual approach to industrial relations through agreements.

This book thus presents a dual originality: on the one hand, it adopts a comparative French and German perspective; on the other hand, it attempts a confrontation between myths and realities of European integration through the attitudes of states and employer organizations.