Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy, 22nd session (Opening plenary)
03 July 2024
[Video Recording]
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to welcome you to the 22nd session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy.
This year, the focus is on competition policy challenges and options towards digital markets, competition and poverty reduction, and recent merger control standards.
These are all very timely issues.
Competition policy can make important contributions on all these fronts.
The cascading crises that we have been going through have set back progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
As it currently stands, none of the targets for SDG 1 on Poverty Eradication is on track to be achieved by 2030. This is worrying and requires urgent attention.
Competition policy can make an important contribution to sustainable development and providing opportunities to lift people out of poverty.
Effective competition policy and law enforcement boost productivity growth, reduce prices, and foster better product and service quality.
Competitive markets have more firms and enable micro, small and medium enterprises to thrive. They ensure the availability and affordability of essential goods and services, and are vital for fostering investment and innovation.
Competition policy can help address competition concerns in the agri-food sector. This is also very relevant for the poor as they spend much higher shares of their income on food items. Competition authorities play a significant role in addressing practices such as bid-rigging, price-fixing, and anti-competitive mergers, while also advocating against unfair and excessive subsidies.
Enhancing competition in the agri-food sector could significantly improve small farmers’ productivity and income growth by giving them better access to agricultural inputs such as fertilizers or seeds. Competitive downstream markets could also facilitate domestic value addition for agricultural commodities.
Also on the digital front, the interest in competition policy has been increasing.
The digital economy’s rapid expansion has led to growing concerns about market concentration.
Tech companies have grown to tech giants.
Coupled with concerns of abuse of market dominance, competition authorities worldwide are exploring policy options to curb anti-competitive practices without curbing innovation.
Many countries have been strengthening their competition laws, introduced new regulations, and adopted soft-law instruments, such as guidelines, alongside enforcement.
Yet, there is still no global consensus on the most effective tools or frameworks to address competition concerns related to digital platforms. Developing countries, in particular, face challenges due to limited experience and resources, as well as legal obstacles in acting against companies based overseas.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This meeting offers an opportunity to share successes and challenges in refining competition policies in the digital economy and the agri-food sector.
With the increasing global emphasis on competition policy, it is very useful to exchange best practices and experiences.
For six decades, UN Trade and Development has supported developing nations by promoting the use of competition law and policy to build strong, sustainable, and inclusive economies and foster cooperation between member States.
UN Trade and Development is the custodian of the UN Set on Competition which is the only internally agreed instrument in the field of competition.
Looking ahead, our work in competition policy will have important milestones in 2025. We will organize the 9th UN Conference to review the UN Set on Competition and also convene our 16th ministerial conference. These conferences will provide opportunities to further enhance UNCTAD’s role in assisting developing nations in this area of work - an area critical for ensuring equity and fairness in the global economy.
Before closing, I want to thank the Chair, the Vice-Chair, all experts and attending member states for your engagement in this IGE. I wish you fruitful discussions and thank you for your attention.
