Regionalism, Competition Policy and Abuse of Dominant Positions

Co-ordination of competition policies within regional trade agreements (RTAs) seems desirable, especially within deeper forms of regional integration. This contributes to a healthy and stable regional trading system. We argue, however, that regional competition policies should be carefully elaborated not to neglect efficiency considerations linked to economies of scale/scope within a regional liberalisation program, in particular, in the case of dominant positions. We also suggest that, in the short term, a less stringent approach to competition policy should be adopted in RTAs among developing countries where market failures may be due not only to imperfect competition but also to credit and labour market constraints.