Competitive Harm Crossing Borders: Regulatory Gaps and A Way Forward

Abstract

This article analyses the current regulatory framework governing transnational restrictive business practices. It identifies key gaps that provide room for anticompetitive practices to flourish, causing cross-border transfer of wealth, typically from less affluent states. The economic harm caused by cross-border anticompetitive conduct is significant; international cartels alone caused overcharges exceeding $1.5 trillion in the period 1990–2016. This article offers a series of pragmatic policy recommendations that could narrow existing regulatory gaps. The proposals require no international negotiations and can be implemented domestically. They call for enabling of more assertive and robust extraterritorial enforcement of domestic competition laws and facilitation of positive externalities in that context.