The Illegal Resale Price Maintenance Behavior Of China-Forms, Sources, Damages,Misperceptions And Immunities

As the essential competitive factor in the process of sales and distribution, the price issue plays a very important role in the relevant market distribution efficiency, consumers’interest and the relevant competitive mechanism. However, since Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China has taken effect in2008, the regulation of PRM (Resale Price Maintenance) issues is still in the initial stage.The author was very lucky to experience the Maotai, WuLiangye, Milk Powder and Audi RPM case as the member of the antitrust enforcement group. In the dealing process of the practical monopolization, the author deeply felt that China’s illegal PRM behavior was widespread due to the national situation, economic environment and law enforcement history and other aspects of reasons, which had a stunning damage on our country’s economic efficiency and citizens’ well-being.However, at present, the academic field, the political field, the commercial field, the attorney field and the public field of China fail to have a comprehensive understanding towards the damaging seriousness of illegal PRM behavior, and also have many mistakes and serious misunderstanding on the RPM issues, relevant translations and relevant introductions, which lead to Chinese existing obstacles of illegal PRM specification and law enforcement.At the same time, due to the very high market coverage rate of China’s illegal PRM behavior, there are many gigantic differences between China and other countries which have a long time law enforcement history on the illegal PRM issues.This leads to other countries’ latest research achievements and law enforcement precedent on illegal PRM issues being in a low adaptability, with part of the conclusions even completely opposite to our practical situations.This paper analyzes the effects and damages of the illegal PRM behavior of China, and points out some misunderstandings of the illegal PRM behavior of China. This paper also exploratory analyzes several PRM behavior that can be or may be allowed in an exemption or exception condition regulated by Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China. In a word, the author hopes this paper can motivate more experts to start from the practical situation through this paragraph, and conducts discussions on the illegal PRM behavior of China.The major contents of this paper include: The first chapter conducts an explanation and definition on the theory and conception which will be appeared in this paper.The second chapter starts from the law enforcement of EU, US and China on PRM, and analyzes the differences among the market situation, economic environment, law enforcement history and purpose. This chapter emphasizes the similarity on anti-monopoly law between China and EU, and points out the difference between the law content and judicial system in emphasis, which leads the law enforcement of US is devoid of direct lessoning significance to China.The third chapter starts from the classification of the illegal PRM behavior, and conducts the classification discussion on the illegal PRM agreements from the leading force, implementation way, control means and protocol types.The fourth chapter analyzes the fundamental purpose of the illegal PRM behavior which implemented by the undertakings and the managing staffs they employed. This chapter points out that the corresponding deficiency of managing ability, the managing sluggishness and the interest appeal of managing staffs is the internal impetus of the illegal PRM behavior which implemented by vast majorities of undertakings.The fifth chapter explains why the undertakings consider to implement the illegal PRM when the resale system design has deficiencies in distribution system and price system. This chapter also analyzes the damages of resale efficiency on the illegal PRM.The sixth chapter systematically analyzes how the illegal PRM cause damages.The seventh chapter remedies some misunderstandings on the illegal PRM which appears regularly in China, and point out the conclusion that "the vertical restraints damage less than the horizontal restraints" is not appropriated in China.The eighth chapter starts from the exemption and exception rules of the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China, and analyzes several types of PRM agreements which can be or may be allowed in the exemption or exception condition in law enforcement practice.The ninth chapter puts forward with the policy suggestions after summarizing the analysis and conclusion of the whole paper.