Improving International Competition Order: An Institutional Approach PDF
Preview Improving International Competition Order: An Institutional Approach
Improving International Competition Order An Institutional Approach Christian A. Conrad Improving International Competition Order Improving International Competition Order An Institutional Approach Christian A. Conrad © Christian A.Conrad 2005 All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988,or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,90 Tottenham Court Road,London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-52486-0 ISBN 978-0-230-00596-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230005969 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Conrad,Christian,1966– Improving international competition order:an institutional approach / by Christian Conrad. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1.Competition,International. 2.Competition – Government policy. 3.International economic relations.4.Globalization.I.Title. HF1414.C6645 2005 338.6(cid:2)048—dc22 2004051337 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 Contents List of Abbreviations vii Introduction: On the Way to an International Competition Order 1 1 The Theory of Competition Policy: an International Synthesis 5 The role of competition in national and international economic systems 5 The ordoliberalist concept of Walter Eucken 10 The workability concept of industrial organization and the German conception of functional competition: the pessimists 11 The concept of free competition, the Chicago School, the Austrian School and the theory of contestable markets: the competition optimists 14 Evaluation 19 Newer developments 23 A concept of a new neo-ordoliberalism as an economic ideal for an international system of competition regulations 27 2 Distortions in Competition: Dumping and Anti-Dumping Measures 33 The attractiveness of anti-dumping measures, or why anti-dumping measures are so popular 33 Dumping and anti-dumping measures from a competition and allocation perspective 43 3 A Possible Way to an International Competition Order 57 Synthesis of international competition policies 58 Requirements for an international competition authority 71 v vi Contents Designing a new international system for competition regulation 72 4 Strategies to Reform the Regulations on International Competition 75 Criteria for an international system to regulate competition 75 Evaluation of selected reform strategies 77 Conclusion 100 5 Economic Policy Reform Strategies for International Regulations on Competition 102 Current interests 102 Economic policy reform strategies 104 What will come out of Doha? 113 Interviews 115 Notes 118 References 135 Index 149 List of Abbreviations AIA Agreement on Implementation of Article VIof the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 CABSSS Coalition of American Businesses for Stable Steel Supplies CASUM Coalition of Steel Using Manufacturers CLP Committee on Competition Law and Policy BGH Bundesgerichtshof (Supreme Court of Germany) DIAC Draft International Antitrust Code DSB Dispute Settlement Body DSU Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes EC European Community ECJ European Court of Justice EFTA European Free Trade Association EISA European Independent Steelwork Association EU European Union FTC Federal Trade Commission GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GWB Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen IAA International Antitrust Authority ICPAC International Competition Policy Advisory Committee ICPO International Competition Policy Office IISI International Iron and Steel Institute IMF International Monetary Fund ITA International Trade Administration ITC International Trade Commission ITO International Trade Organization JGTC Joint Group on Trade and Competition KMU kleinere und mittlere Unternehmen OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OPEC Organization of Petrol Exporting Countries SITC Standard International Trade Classification vii viii List of Abbreviations UK United Kingdom UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development USA United States of America WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WTO World Trade Organization Introduction: On the Way to an International Competition Order After the failure of the Havana Charter in 1947, the WTO took over the role of mediator for questions regarding trade, except for cases involving foreign competition policy. Even in trade policy the influ- ence of the WTO remains limited, however, because it can neither act of its own accord nor apply sanctions in cases of violations against the trade rules of GATT, as a national authority would. There are no competition policy instruments to deal with international violations of competition that negatively effect foreign countries, such as abus- ing a position of market control, export cartels, vertical or horizontal limitations to competition on export markets and mergers that effect third-party countries.1 With trade liberalization as the backdrop for the GATT rounds, any effective competition policy must be international in scope if it is to deal with growing globalization and the ever increasing number of international mergers. The volume of global mergers and takeovers reached a level of 2.5 trillion US dollars in 1998, five times that of the early 1990s.2 Owing to the globalization of economies, compa- nies want not only to sell and produce internationally but also to merge. The current controls on international merging are inefficient, which leads to overlapping and uncoordinated investigations. This type of multinational merger is laborious and opaque for firms, since they have to apply for permission separately in each country. Applications in multiple countries means having to deal with two different legal systems, and the national competition authorities are unable to provide the necessary information for an evaluation because of a fundamental lack in international cooperation and 1
The list of books you might like
