The Relevance of Antimonopoly Policy for Developing Countries

• Author: Joel Davidow
• Published date: 01 March 1992
• Date: 01 March 1992
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0003603X9203700116
• Subject Matter: Article

The Antitrust Bulletin/Spring 1992

The relevance

of

antimonopoly

policy for developing countries

BY JOEL DAVIDOW·

277

The United States and Canada adopted legislation against monop-

olies and cartels during the period 1889-1890. Over the next cen-

tury each of those nations gradually developed that legislation

into a full-scale enforcement system including criminal penalties

for secret cartel conduct and civil remedies to control marketing

restraints, mergers, and acquisitions and abuses

of

dominant posi-

tions of market power. Prompted by U.S. pressure and guidance,

Japan and Germany have also developed extensive systems

of

competition law enforcement. Since 1962, the European Commu-

nity has built up a major body of competition law and a powerful

commission

to

enforce

and develop the policy.

Most

of

the

nations of the OECD have some kind of competition law in place

though Belgium and the Netherlands have virtually none and Italy

waited until 1990 to adopt any law on the subject.

Until the latter part of the 1980's, the interest

of

nations out-

side of the OECD in antitrust policy was very limited and very

tentative. Antitrust laws did not exist in Communist countries,

•Partner, Dickstein, Shapiro &Morin, Washington, D.C.; Adjunct

Prof., American University Law School; Formerly Chief

of

Foreign Com-

merce Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Dept. of Justice.

C 1992by Federal Legal Publicalions,lnc.