Competition, competition policy, and the GATT

The authors argue that further moves to liberalize trade and to implement existing GATT rules and principles may have a greater impact on global competition than would the pursuit of harmonization of competition policy. They also suggest that current GATT rules and case law provide scope for disputes to be brought before the GATT that relate to both the application and the nonapplication of existing domestic competition laws of GATT contracting parties. This leads to de facto discrimination between domestic and foreign products. Little use has been made of the GATT in this connection. Perhaps existing indirect avenues for raising competition-related disputes in the GATT should be pursued more actively. This would help identify what specific government policies might be the subject of multilateral negotiations and explicitly incorporated into the GATT framework.