Fighting Cross-Border Cartels

Pierre Horna is a Legal Affairs Official at the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Catching the Uncatchable
Pathways to Cooperation in Cartel Enforcement
Dismantling Perceptions about CBCs in the Developing World
Perception 1: Younger or Smaller Competition Authorities Should Prioritise Going after Domestic Cartels before Investigating Complex CBCs
Perception 2: Cross-Border Cartels are All the Same, and there are One-Size-Fits-All Solutions
Perception 3: Regional CBCs can only be Successfully Targeted by Effective Regional Competition Authorities
Perception 4: Anti-Cartel Laws in Emerging Markets are Still in their Infancy
Perception 5: Trust is the First Issue to Look at when Dealing with Younger Jurisdictions
Perception 6: In Cartel Enforcement, All Information Exchanged by Competition Authorities is Confidential
Turning a Paper Tiger into an Effective Hunter
Methodology and Exposure

PART I
CROSS BORDER CARTELS
1. Conceptual Framework
1.1. Definition of Cross-Border Cartels
1.2. Implications of the Size and Maturity of Competition Regimes for CBC Enforcement
1.3. CBCs and Algorithms
1.4. Summary
2. Classification of Cross-Border Cartels
2.1. Rationale for the Classification of CBCs
2.2. Types of CBCs
2.3. Summary
3. Theory and Practice of International Cooperation
3.1. Rationale for Cooperation
3.2. Tools for International Cooperation and Information-Sharing
3.3. International Organisations
3.4. Summary

PART II
CHALLENGES OF CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN MULTIJURISDICTIONAL CARTEL ENFORCEMENT
4. Multinational vs Transnational CBCs
4.1. Challenges in Multinational CBC Enforcement
4.2. Challenges in Transnational CBC Enforcement
4.3. Summary
5. Specific Issues for Young or Small Competition Authorities in Investigating Regional Cross-Border Cartels
5.1. Lack of Effective Regional Competition Authorities
5.2. Different Legal Standings Regarding Cartel Offences
5.3. Diverse Set of Rules Concerning the Powers of Investigation
5.4. Diverse Adjudication Techniques
5.5. Issues Related to Export and Import Cross-Border Cartel Investigations
5.6. Summary
6. Past Solutions to Combatting Cross-Border Cartels
6.1. Most Common Solutions to Improve Multijurisdictional Cooperation in Cross-Border Cartel Investigations
6.2. Most Common Partial Solutions to Improve Cooperation in Regional, Export and Import CBC Investigations
6.3. Summary

PART III
NOVEL PROPOSALS TO TARGET SELECTED TYPES OF CROSS-BORDER CARTELS
7. CBCs in Latin America
7.1. Competition Law and Policy Developments in Latin America
7.2. National Cartel Cases with Regional Cross-Border Dimensions
7.3. Cross-Border Cartels in Latin America
7.4. Existing Efforts of CBC Enforcement in Latin America
7.5. Summary
8. Strengthening Cooperation between Mature and Young Competition Authorities in Transnational Cross-Border Cartel Investigations
8.1. Introducing Calculus-Based Trust Activities
8.2. Towards an International Benchmark for the Definition of ‘Sharable Information’
8.3. Strengthening the ICN for Sharing Non-Confidential Information
8.4. Summary
9. Strengthening Cooperation Among Young Competition Authorities in Regional Cross-Border Cartel Investigations
9.1. From Calculus-Based Trust (CBT) to Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT)
9.2. Strengthening Information Cooperation Through Coordination Games
9.3. Summary and Outlook
10. Conclusions
10.1. Building Blocks for Effective Transnational CBC Investigations
10.2. From Cooperation to Coordination in Regional CBC Investigations
10.3. Final Reflections