Bradford, Anu --- "Antitrust Law in Global Markets" [2012] ELECD 224; in Elhauge, R. Einer (ed), "Research Handbook on the Economics of Antitrust Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Research Handbook on the Economics of Antitrust Law

Editor(s): Elhauge, R. Einer

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848440807

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: Antitrust Law in Global Markets

Author(s): Bradford, Anu

Number of pages: 44

Extract:

11 Antitrust law in global markets
Anu Bradford*


INTRODUCTION

Multilateral corporations' activities span across global markets. Yet antitrust laws regu-
lating those activities remain national. Europeans can ban American companies from
merging,1 tell American companies how to design their products,2 or determine what
kind of discounts American companies are permitted to offer to their customers.3 Chinese
can impose conditions on off-shore mergers.4 And Brazilians can insist on reviewing a
transaction with minimal connections to the Brazilian market.5
As the global web of antitrust laws thickens, companies are forced to navigate
an increasingly complex regulatory environment. The need to comply with mul-
tiple different domestic antitrust regimes exposes multinational corporations to
additional transaction costs, delays, and uncertainty. Simultaneous application of
many antitrust laws carries the risk of enforcement conflicts and is likely to lead to
global overenforcement of antitrust laws. A lack of international antitrust regulation
may also lead to antitrust protectionism if states underenforce their antitrust laws
towards domestic corporations, while overenforcing those same laws towards foreign
corporations.6
These concerns have sparked demands to move away from decentralized antitrust


* Thanks to Hanna Chung for outstanding research assistance.
1
See, e.g., Commission Decision 2004/134 of 3 July 2001, Case No. COMP/M.2220 ­ General
Electric/Honeywell, [2004] O.J. L48/1 (hereinafter `GE/Honeywell Commission Decision').
2
See, e.g., Case T-204/04, Microsoft Corp. v. Comm'n, [2007] E.C.R. II-03601, paras 231­3
(requiring Microsoft to design ...