Export Cartels, Antitrust Law Issues Research

Export cartels are exempted from the competition laws of most countries. Export exemptions from antitrust laws authorize firms to collaborate to engage in anticompetitive behavior in foreign markets, at the expense of other countries' consumers and producers, in a manner that would be unlawful if undertaken at home. But on the other hand, export cartels are regulated strictly in accordance with the antitrust laws of importing countries.This rules governing export cartels should therefore be at least as strong as other "beggar—thy—neighbor" trade policies such as tariffs and export subsidies, bring contending views among the academics and competition authorities around the world. Whether the export cartels should be exempted from our future Antimonopoly Act is discussed animatedly in China. This paper is designed to discuss the positions of different countries with respect to export cartels, and then give some suggestions to our future Antimonopoly Act legislation. The paper proceeds as follows.Section I provides a brief overview of cartels, export cartels and the general policy of exemptions to export cartels, giving the bedding for the exposition of the following sections.Section II presents an overview of different types of pure export cartel exemptions that intended exclusively for trade in foreign markets, and documents their motivations, changing international status and general requirements. A country adopting the export exemption policy is primarily concerned with the following factors: Increasing export, protecting medium and small-sized enterprises, preventing dumping, and so on. We classify the legal treatment of export cartels into three groups: explicit exemptions, implicit exemptions and no statutory exemption. No matter what type a country adopts, no harm to competition in domestic market is the basic requirement.