I. Anti competitive practices

I. Anti competitive practices 4

1. CONCERTED OR ANTI COMPETITIVE PRACTICES

Some of the cases reviewed demonstrate that anti competitive practices such as collusion and abuse of dominance occur in a variety of sectors and that in many instances anti competitive practices involve a mixture of vertical and horizontal anti competitive practices.

That is why they are known as anti competitive practices, as described below

Ivorian legislation distinguishes between practices which result from individual behaviour (restrictive practices) and those which arise from concerted actions (anti competitive practices).

The Australia Thailand agreement, for instance, contains a definition of the anti competitive practices to be proscribed these include business conduct or transactions that adversely affect competition, such as anti competitive horizontal arrangements between competitors misuse of market power, including predatory pricing anti competitive vertical arrangements and anti competitive mergers and acquisitions.

Also, they wish to ensure that their access to world markets is not frustrated by anti competitive practices.

The Commission nevertheless found these concerns to be more a fear of competition than of actual anti competitive practices.

With reference to such a policy, in certain circumstances intellectual property rights could also give rise to anti competitive practices.

Through these campaigns, competition authorities stimulate a culture of competition and make the public realize how harmful anti competitive practices are.

This fact, in itself, cannot be taken as definitive evidence of the presence of anti competitive practices in the market for international Internet connectivity.

It was, however, important to ensure that public restraints were not replaced by private restraints such as cartels and restrictive or anti competitive practices.

Zambia Anti competitive restrictions on exports of cement

5. The effective enforcement of the Set of Principles and Rules on Restrictive Business Practices had helped UNCTAD to eliminate various anti competitive regulations and practices in a great number of countries.

Establish or strengthen appropriate mechanisms at the regional and sub regional levels to promote exchange of information on anti competitive practices and on the application of national and regional laws and policies in this area, and to assist each other to their mutual advantage regarding control of anti competitive practices at the regional and sub regional levels.

Zambia Anti competitive restrictions on exports of cement .6

As regards prohibited agreements, the Commission issued opinion No. 002 CTX of 27 March 1996 concerning anti competitive practices in the inter urban passenger transport sector.

Revised recommendation of the OECD Council concerning cooperation between member countries on anti competitive practices affecting international trade (27 and 28 July 1995 (C(95)130 FINAL)).

Indeed, there is little evidence of serious anti competitive practices that would warrant ex ante market regulation, at least not in the main markets for interconnection services.

This case shows that in the absence of adequate evidence to prosecute anti competitive practices, developing countries may sometimes use other government policies to tackle a competition case.

Preventive anti corruption policies and practices

Audiovisual services Certain business practices of distributors of audiovisual services give rise to concern about possible anti competitive behaviour, especially due to the vertical linkages between producers and distributors.

The adoption of an adequate legal framework for competition not only helped avoid anti competitive practices by firms but also created healthy and fair conditions for all of them.

4. The Commission notes that FDI liberalization and the strengthening of competition policy are complementary so that countries can guard against restrictive business practices and anti competitive practices of firms and thereby maximize the benefits that can arise from liberalization.

Asian countries shared an interest in ensuring that anti competitive practices did not impede or negate the realization of benefits to their economies from more liberal frameworks for investment and trade.

3. Furthermore, more than half of FDI entered countries (especially developed countries) through mergers and acquisitions, which could lead to concentrated markets and create scope for anti competitive practices by firms.

Anti competitive practices, such as colluding with other firms to control markets, abusing transfer pricing, or engaging in corrupt practices to gain unfair advantages, can all be significantly detrimental to local firms, local employment and the general economic development prospects of a host developing country.

It was necessary to address anti competitive tendencies emanating from both domestic and external markets.

Yet regulators persist in trying to inject themselves into these fields, with antitrust authorities claiming that they are ripe with anti competitive practices and exercises of undue market power by the most successful market participants.

A third anti competitive practice, known as loss leader selling, is also prohibited by the ordinance.

At the same time, it is important to give new entrants and smaller players reassurance that they too can enter and function profitably in markets that were previously difficult to enter because of anti competitive practices.

NAFTA provisions require that members take measures to proscribe anti competitive private practices they do not however, establish any standards to be incorporated into domestic laws but, rather, emphasize the importance of cooperation on competition enforcement.

This case is an example of cross border anti competitive mergers' spillover effects emanating from other jurisdictions.

Monopolists and dominant firms, like Microsoft, can actually suppress innovation. Unless checked by anti trust authorities, they can engage in anti competitive behavior that reinforces their monopoly power.

Globalization had led to an increase in anti competitive practices at the international level, and a new discussion was emerging as to whether it was necessary to establish multilateral competition norms within the WTO or whether the Set should be strengthened.

The Office prohibited the anti competitive behaviour and imposed a fine of CZK 313 million (approximately US 10.6 million).

Under the EU Chile agreement, for instance, the parties undertake to apply their respective competition laws in a manner consistent with the agreement, so as to prevent the benefits of the liberalization process in goods and services from being diminished or cancelled out by anti competitive business conduct and the parties also undertake to give particular attention to anti competitive agreements, concerted practices and abusive behaviour resulting from single or joint dominant positions.

Agreement Between the European Community and the Government of Japan concerning Cooperation on Anti Competitive Activities, Brussels, 10 July 2003

Agreement Between the European Community and the Government of Japan concerning Cooperation on Anti Competitive Activities, Brussels, 10 July 2003.

The report contains three chapters, dealing respectively with technical assistance and general information exchange various forms of case specific cooperation of a procedural nature and substantive provisions relating to the content and application of competition laws with respect to control of restrictive business practices (RBPs), a term which is used interchangeably with anti competitive practices in the present report.

The prospects of this happening were greater in developing host counties, where domestic firms had yet to build competitive strengths in many industries. Thus, in order to benefit fully from FDI liberalization, countries needed to ensure that statutory obstacles to the entry of firms (which had been reduced) were not replaced by anti competitive practices of private firms, foreign or domestic.

A review meeting on a possible framework for cooperation among SACU member States on anti competitive practices was organized in Maseru on 9 and 10 August 2004 by UNCTAD and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Lesotho for representatives of five South African countries.

In the current case, the denial of access to port facilities by the dominant player has negative anti competitive effects in Jamaica.

Information about the quality of the service provided, which can also be use as an anti competitive weapon should also be more transparent.