Applying Competition Policy to Optimize International Trade Rules
Hyo-young, Lee | February 2017
Abstract
This paper delves into the relationship between trade and competition, which has long been a subject largely untouched since the issue had been dropped from the multilateral trade agenda in 2003. The need to incorporate elements of competition policy into international trade rules has long been discussed in the context of making the international trade regime more effective. The issue has gained more attention as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) began to emerge as new influential players in the international market, competing with private enterprises on an unequal footing. A growing number of bilateral trade agreements have included chapters on competition policy, albeit with rules that do not have sufficient binding force for disciplining the business practices of state-owned enterprises. The recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), however, has introduced innovative rules for disciplining the competitive practices of SOEs by integrating the existing WTO disciplines on subsidies with competition rules. In this article, “competitive neutrality”, the fundamental principle underlying the SOE disciplines, is used as a framework of analysis for understanding the new disciplines and obligations in the SOE rules. Several legal issues and challenges are identified that are relevant for applying the new rules in the real world, and implications are derived for future rule-making involving other new trade issues.
Citation
Hyo-young, Lee. 2017. Applying Competition Policy to Optimize International Trade Rules. © Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/7683.Keywords
Government Policy
Regional Organization
Regional Plans
Economic integration
Regional Development Bank
Preferential tariffs
International negotiation
Protectionist measures
Access to markets
Economic agreements
International trade law
Regional integration
Trade relations
Regionalism
Regional Economy
Regional Trading Arrangements
Regional Trade Integration
Regional Economic Integration
Regional Cooperation
Interregional Cooperation
Trade Disputes
Trade Barriers
Regional economics
Regional planning
Regional disparities
Interregionalism
Regional economic disparities
Regional economic blocs
Industrial arbitration
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