Final answer:
The statement is true. A customs union involves eliminating trade barriers among member countries and maintaining individual external trade policies with non-member countries.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement is true. The scenario described in the question is that of a customs union.
A customs union is an agreement between countries where they eliminate trade barriers among themselves, such as tariffs and quotas, and each country maintains its own external trade policies with non-member countries. In other words, they have a common external trade policy and free trade within the group.