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Competition
laws should be nationality-blind
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| Lets hope she
can compete freely |
Paris,
30 April 2003 - The International Chamber of Commerce has set out
core principles that business wants covered in any multilateral agreement
on competition policy under the Doha Round, arguing that competition laws
should be "nationality-blind."
Apart from non-discrimination,
the principles include transparency, procedural fairness and the protection
of confidential information.
An ICC statement on
the interaction between trade and competition policy in the World Trade
Organization strikes a note of caution, stating that significant differences
remain between natio
nal competition laws, and that bridging them will
require time.
Stating that competition
laws should not discriminate on the basis of nationality, the ICC statement
- drawn up by business experts serving on its Commissions on Competition
and Trade and Investment - says laws that expressly favour local as against
foreign firms "distort trade and undermine the credibility of competition
policy generally."
The statement added:
"They risk becoming instruments of protectionism rather than a guardian
of open and efficient markets." It said that any WTO competition
agreement should include "an appropriately-tailored prohibition on
de jure nationality-based discrimination."
On due process and
transparency, the ICC statement said both principles were essential "because
they provide stakeholders - the public, consumers and competitors - some
assurance that the system will produce consistent and national results
and generate confidence in … competition law enforcement."
ICC said it gave "full
support" to increased international cooperation on the detection
and punishment of hard core cartels - formed through agreements by competitors
to fix prices or make rigged bids, or to establish output restrictions
or quotas.
But the statement
added that action against hard core cartels should not negate the need
for legal safeguards and protections for parties involved in investigations,
who might or might not be proved guilty.
Competition
policy in the WTO: Doha Declaration issues
ICC
Commission on Competition
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