Action by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy

 

The Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy, 

Recalling the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices, adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 35/63 of 5 December 1980,

Recalling the resolution adopted by the Eighth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices (Geneva, October 2020),¹

Recalling the decision of the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Bridgetown, 2021) in paragraphs 56, 62 and 127 (z) that “in the process of transformation, it is fundamental for fair, sound and robust competition and consumer protection policies and enforcement to maintain a robust, level playing field and enhance transparency for all participants, so that market access is not under anticompetitive practices. Ensuring effective competition, including through support in developing and implementing competition policies and through cooperation among competition authorities, paired with robust consumer protection in the market, will help foster economic efficiency, resulting in safer and better products at lower prices for consumers”, that “multilateral dialogue and cooperation are crucial in areas such as the governance of new and emerging technologies, including those related to data management, competition and consumer protection. Special attention should also be paid to the challenges of electronic commerce and the digital economy through an integrated approach to many strategic areas. Increased international cooperation is required, including in digital platforms’ governance, to promote data flow with trust, safety and confidence in their use, in accordance with national regulations and relevant international commitments” and that UNCTAD should “continue to assist developing countries to formulate and implement competition and consumer protection policies and laws, facilitate cooperation among competition and consumer protection agencies, conduct peer reviews and foster the exchange of knowledge and best practices, including through multilateral forums, such as the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy and the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy, and by contributing to the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conferences to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices and of the revised United Nations guidelines for consumer protection”,²

Reaffirming the fundamental role that competition law and policy plays in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by promoting competitive, open and contestable markets and ensuring wider choice, better quality and lower prices of goods and services for consumers,

Underlining that competition law and policy is a key policy tool with which to address the negative impact of the cascading economic crisis and contribute to a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable economy, including by maintaining open, competitive and accessible markets encouraging trade and investment flows and resource mobilization to support developing countries and by reducing poverty,

Recognizing the need to strengthen the work of UNCTAD in competition law and policy so as to enhance its development role and benefits for consumers,

Recognizing that it is crucial to respond appropriately to the challenges of competition in digital markets and ecosystems, to enable digitalization to contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth; and that policy responses, such as revising competition law to suit digital markets or introducing new legislation, including ex-ante regulations, may vary depending on the circumstances of each jurisdiction,

Recognizing that effective competition law enforcement is crucial in the era of globalization and in the light of the necessity to promptly combat cross-border anticompetitive practices,

Recognizing that competition in the market has a direct relationship with poverty reduction in terms of lower prices and/or better quality that can result from increased competitive pressures, expand markets and make goods and services more affordable, especially to the poor population and that workers can also benefit from competition for their labour through higher incomes; and requesting the UNCTAD secretariat to continue to explore how competition policy can raise the living standards of people, especially those in developing countries and the least developed countries,

Recognizing that many member States have continuously improved or are working on improving merger control standards, including by adjusting merger review thresholds, allowing competition authorities to examine mergers against nascent competitors with significant competitive impacts, paying closer attention to competition related to platforms, considering the greater use of presumptions from which likely anticompetitive impacts may be inferred, more carefully considering acquisition strategies as a means to maintain an acquiring firm’s dominant position and more closely reviewing conglomerate mergers with potential anticompetitive effects in the global economy,

Noting with satisfaction the important written and oral contributions from member States and their competition authorities and other participants that enriched the debate during its twenty-second session,

Taking note of the report of the informal working group on cross-border cartels presented at its twenty- second session,

Taking note with appreciation of the documentation prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat for its twenty-second session,

1. Welcomes the efforts of member States in implementing the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices; and reaffirms the interest of competition authorities in exchanging experiences, best practices and challenges regarding competition law and policy;
2. Encourages the continuation of legislative, policy-related and regulatory actions and initiatives by Governments and competition authorities in response to the polycrisis affecting the global economy, as well as coordination and information-sharing at the international and regional levels;
3. Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Egypt for volunteering for a peer review of competition law and policy and for sharing its experiences and challenges with other competition authorities during its twenty-second session and to all Governments and regional groups participating in the review; and recognizes the progress achieved to date in the elaboration and enforcement of the competition law of Egypt;
4. Requests UNCTAD to compile and report on work addressing the global competition issues of digital markets and ecosystems and to continue to promote international and regional cooperation;
5. Encourages the improvement of cooperation between competition authorities, sectoral regulators and ministries of industry and economy and other authorities, to enhance their capacity to respond to the recent fast-changing economy and new policy demands, particularly in developing countries and the least developed countries in their efforts to harmonize policies geared towards poverty reduction in order to uplift the living standards of their populations;
6. Recognizes that merger control standards need to be able to analyse the various impacts of mergers, considering increased digitalization and other emerging trends; and the importance of continuously developing international cooperation among competition authorities, to respond to the mergers of global companies;
7. Underlines the benefits of enhancing and strengthening enforcement capacities and promoting a competition culture in developing countries through capacity-building and advocacy activities targeting all relevant stakeholders; and requests the UNCTAD secretariat to disseminate the summary of its discussions on these topics to all interested member States, including through technical assistance activities and peer reviews;
8. Underlines the importance of international cooperation as recognized in section F of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices, including informal collaboration among competition authorities; and calls upon UNCTAD to promote and support cooperation between Governments and competition authorities, as directed by the Bridgetown Covenant (paragraphs 56, 62 and 127 (z)) and the resolution adopted by the Eighth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices (paragraphs 3 and 22), as well as in the document titled “Guiding Policies and Procedures under Section F of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices”;
9. Welcomes and endorses the revised appendix to the document titled “Guiding Policies and Procedures under Section F of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices”, requesting that it be reported to the Ninth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices;
10. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to continue the dissemination of the document titled “Guiding Policies and Procedures under Section F of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices” and to encourage its use by member States;
11. Emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation in the enforcement of competition law and policy and the significance of initiatives launched by regional competition organizations and frameworks; and invites competition authorities to strengthen their regional and bilateral cooperation;
12. Welcomes the information exchanges and discussions on best practices to promote cooperation between competition authorities in dealing with cross-border cartel cases and common issues in the fight against bid rigging; and decides to renew the mandate of the informal working group on cross- border cartels, to highlight best practices, facilitate information exchanges, consultations and international cooperation, discuss tools and procedures and undertake other projects as agreed in the future, and to report to the Ninth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set;
13. Decides that UNCTAD should, considering past experiences, continue to undertake peer reviews of competition law and policy following requests from member States and in accordance with available resources;
14. Invites all member States and competition authorities to assist UNCTAD on a voluntary basis by providing experts or other resources for future and follow-up activities in connection with voluntary peer reviews and their recommendations;
15. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to prepare a review of the implementation of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices, including a brief assessment of 20 years of voluntary peer reviews of competition law and policy, for the Ninth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set;
16. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to prepare a report as background documentation for the Ninth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set on the topic of maximizing synergies between competition and consumer protection policies;
17. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to facilitate consultations, encourage contributions from member States and promote discussions among them on the topics of: competition law and policy and global food value chains; and investigative techniques and digital tools in a modern enforcement world;
18. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to prepare, for the consideration of the Ninth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set, an updated review of capacity-building in and technical assistance on competition law and policy, including an impact assessment, based on information received from member States;
19. Notes with appreciation the voluntary financial and other contributions received from member States; invites member States to continue to assist UNCTAD on a voluntary basis in its capacity- building and technical assistance activities by providing experts, training facilities and financial or other resources; and requests the UNCTAD secretariat to pursue capacity-building and technical assistance activities, including training, and, where possible, to focus such activities on maximizing their impact in all interested countries.

 

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¹ TD/RBP/CONF.9/9.

² TD/541/Add.2.