© 2001 by Oxford University Press
Moving the Trade and Competition Debate Forward
1 The Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission 2 The WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition 3 The Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission
The present article argues that anti-competitive practices, which distort international trade, require a multilateral response. Traditional unilateral and bilateral responses fall short when faced with such anti-competitive practices. Competition-related provisions are already contained in a number of WTO agreements such as TRIPs and GATS, but there is a need for a more systematic treatment of the issue of competition in the WTO. The solution could be negotiations on a WTO competition agreement, which would be based on the fundamental principles of non-discrimination and transparency. The agreement would also establish the necessary modalities for multilateral cooperation thereby also giving developing countries access to such cooperation. Finally, the agreement and the Competition Policy Committee, which could be established to administer such an agreement, would play an important catalytic role in promoting the reinforcement of competition institutions.