Established in 2001, the OECD Global Forum on Competition brings together each year high-level officials from more than 110 competition authorities worldwide from both OECD and non-OECD economies. Joining with representatives of international organisations and invited experts, participants debate and discuss key topics on the global competition agenda. With a broad focus on development, the Forum promotes a wider dialogue that encompasses the linkages between competition policy and other cornerstones of economic development.

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Rising inequality and its detrimental impacts emphasise the need for governments to better understand the contributing factors, and to pursue opportunities to address these factors and foster more equal societies. In this context, the panel explored the relationship between competition and inequality; and to what extent competition law and policy can contribute to reducing inequality. This session also examined recent developments in, and future opportunities for, national competition law and policies. The webcast of this session is available on Youtube in English and French. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

🟰 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Competition policy can reduce barriers to entry, boost labour mobility, and make essential goods more affordable for all households.

🛍️ 𝗘𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀: Tackling anti-competitive practices like cartels and market power abuses can enable fair and open markets.

⚖️𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁: Some countries now incorporate public interest goals into their competition law, however challenges may exist in doing so without losing the effectiveness of its core mission – well-functioning markets.

SESSION MATERIALS

Background note by Prof. Eleanor Fox | Note de référence  par Prof. Eleanor Fox

Presentation by Prof. Eleanor Fox

Contribution from the Philippines

In a globalised and digitised world economy, there has been an increase in the number of mergers transactions that have an impact in more than one country. For competition authorities who are responsible for reviewing merger transactions, this has created new challenges and introduced more complexity to their merger review procedures and analyses. This session explored these challenges, explained the reasons why competition authorities may arrive at different decisions, and the role international co-operation plays in each phase of a cross-border merger review.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

⛓️‍💥 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Divergence in competitive conditions may lead to different assessments of cross-border mergers. Factors such as local market structures, consumer preferences, and regulatory environments play a significant role in shaping these decisions. Different competitive conditions across jurisdictions can lead to varying outcomes in merger reviews.

🌐 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼-𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 : Effective co-operation between competition authorities is essential. The discussions underscored challenges such as misaligned review timelines and the complexities of sharing confidential information, and what steps jurisdictions are taking to address them.

⚖️ 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: Effective remedy design requires deep understanding and cooperation between competition authorities. The session highlighted the need for tailored strategies that consider the diverse legal, economic, and political environments of different jurisdictions, and the need to ensure remedies are compatible globally.

SESSION MATERIAL

Call for contributions

OECD Background note

PRESENTATIONS

Michel Alexander | Krystal Uy | OECD Secretariat

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PARTICIPATING DELEGATIONS

Summary of contributions

This session focused on the examination phase of the ongoing OECD Peer Review of competition law and policy in Thailand.  Founded on the willingness of a country to submit its laws and practices to substantive review by peer countries, peer reviews of competition law and policy are a valuable tool to reform and strengthen a country’s competition framework. This session explored the current competition regime in Thailand and assess its effectiveness. The session also seeked to identify key recommendations to help Thailand strengthen its competition regime and institutions. The Peer Review publication will be published early 2025 during a launch event to come.

The food supply chain represents a set of transactions from the supply of inputs to farmers through to arrival at a consumer residence. Its relevance in the global context is particularly high, due to the fine balancing that takes place between government intervention and market operation. Smooth operation of the food supply chain has been disrupted in recent years, and questions have been raised over whether inflation arises to some extent from market failures in this chain.

This roundtable considered the different elements of a food supply chain and how can government policy related to competition, including competition law enforcement, play a role to limit market failures. To the extent the greater competition can limit inflationary tendencies, citizen benefits can arise not only for pocketbooks but, more fundamentally, for long-term health.

KEY FINDINGS

🌏 𝗔 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Food supply chains in one jurisdiction may affect global food supply chains and vice versa, thus national competition authorities’ enforcement matters across borders.

⛓️𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻: Every step of the supply chain is a contractual interface, and that interface could potentially have monopoly power or buyer power being expressed, with cascade effects along the chain.

🔍𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀: Market studies can be an invaluable instrument to understand how the food supply chain functions, its specific architecture, and the potential effects of competition. 

🤝𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼-𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Competition authorities worldwide are faced with similar issues stemming from highly concentrated food markets. Enhancing international cooperation would lead to stronger enforcement.

SESSION MATERIALS

Call for contributions

OECD Background Note
 

PRESENTATIONS

Sean Ennis on the OECD paper  |  OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate

Elizabeth Farina  |   Willard Mwemba  |  Simon Roberts  |   European Union

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PARTICIPATING DELEGATIONS

Summary of the below contributions

The Forum's opening and first session on Competition and Inequality was  webcasted and open to all.

Participation to the other sessions was by invitation only and restricted to officials from competition authorities, government agencies and international/ regional organisations worldwide. Representatives of the business community and trade movements can contribute to the discussions through the Business and Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC). The Global Forum also welcomes the participation of Consumers International each year, an important voice for consumers, particularly in developing countries.

To make sure your competition authority received an invitation next year, please contact angelique. servin@oecd.org.