On The International Regulation Of The Hard-core Cartels

This paper discusses the issue of international hard core cartels regulation. International hardcore cartels are mainly composed of multinational companies, with the features of secret,long term and stability, and the activities adopted by the international hard core cartels,such as fixed prices, market division, collusion for bidding, have severely threatened theeconomic efficiency and competition order of countries in the world. The advancedcountries and regions such as the United States and EU all strictly fight against theinternational hard core cartels, while the developing countries suffers more severe injurybecause of lacking protection from competition law. Starting with the concept ofinternational hard core cartels, this paper distinguishes the concepts of cartel, hard corecartels and international hard core cartels, based on which the harms and features ofinternational hard core cartels are analyzed in details. Then, this paper introduceseconomic theories to analyze the economic meaning of international hard core cartels,and tries to establish the theoretical basis for system design of international hard corecartels regulation, mainly from the two issues: the possibility for enterprises to form theinternational hard core cartels and the problem whether fraud influences the stability ofcartels. Regarding the system of international hard core cartels regulation, this paperstudies the international hard core cartels in the scope of per se illegality, analyzes, indetails, the punishment system, system of Leniency Programs and the difficulties ofdomestic competition law concerning international hard core cartels, followed by thenecessity of developing international cooperation in anti-cartels work. In the respect ofinternational cooperation, this paper reviews the stage fruits currently gained by thecountries around the world in the cooperation of regulating international hard core cartels,and particularly discusses the information sharing system of the international cooperation.At the end, this paper raises some specific suggestions for the anti-trust law of Chinathrough combining the current situation of China's suffering from the international hardcore cartels.