Public
FTAA.soc/civ/41
June 10, 2002
Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat
FTAA -
COMMITTEE OF GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES ON THE PARTICIPATION
OF
CIVIL SOCIETY
COVER SHEET FOR OPEN INVITATION CONTRIBUTIONS
Name (s) |
Working Group on Competition Policy |
Organization (s) |
FTAA/PERU
COMMISION
|
Country |
Peru
|
Open Invitation to Civil Society in FTAA
FTAA/PERU COMMISION
Participating Countries
Proposal from the
Working Group on Competition Policy
April
2002
In the 2001 Buenos
Aires Ministerial Declaration, the Negotiation Group on Competition Policy
was instructed to identify any areas involving the relationship between
competition and antidumping policy that may merit further consideration by
the TNC. The Negotiation Group on Dumping, Subsidies and Compensatory
Rights was likewise required to undertake a similar process of
identification.
This is a subject of
prime importance, as it affects the future of trade flows within the FTAA.
If antidumping rules do not have built-in competition principles, barriers
to fair competition between companies in the hemisphere could result.
Conversely, competition rules should incorporate relevant market criteria
– the trade policies in such markets - in economically integrated areas
already in operation since they could entail cross-border effects on
competition. Pro-trade and pro-competition policies thus imply some
overlapping between the objectives and potential adverse effects on the
well-being and economic efficiency of the countries integrated through the
free trade area.
This priority is not
only manifested in theory, either. In practice, other fora, such as APEC,
are considering the need for APEC economies to give effect, through their
trade policies, to the competition principles which they uphold,
especially in antidumping and countervailing duty cases. Similarly, the
interaction between competition policy and trade within the WTO was
pointed up in the recent Doha Declaration (paragraph 25).
With the foregoing in
mind, Peruvian civil society, represented by the FTAA/PERU Committee
proposes further study and incorporation in the FTAA of the relationship
between trade and competition policy. This would include an assessment of:
• The
potential for antidumping policy to create dominant positions for local
producers, importers, or foreign producers on the local market or the
relevant cross-border market.
• Experiences
in countries where competition principles or criteria have been
incorporated in domestic antidumping laws.
• Impact
on the well-being and efficiency in the implementation of antidumping
measures.
• Cases
in which competition rules and pro-trade policies can be applied, and
their results and market impact compared.
• Barriers
to entry and trade in pro-trade and competition rules alike.
Comision ALCA/PERU
|