Developing Countries and International Competition Law and Policy

Abstract

The breakdown in the negotiations for the adoption of multilateral competition rules through the WTO in 2003 is most commonly attributed to the opposition voiced by developing and least-developed countries who were suspicious of attempts to facilitate market access and permit possible interference with their domestic industrial policy. It is not always evident however that such a regime would have been counter to their interests. Greater efforts to co-ordinate the detection and elimination of global cartels, for example, would have been highly beneficial to developing countries where these cartels have a disproportionate impact. This paper will examine some of these issues within the context of the utility of global and domestic competition law and policy for developing and least-developed countries. While developing countries may have been right to question the overall benefits of a multilateral scheme, the enactment of a domestic competition law, which is mindful of the contextual issues at stake in these economies, may make an important contribution to economic development.