Interaction Between Trade and Competition: Why a Multilateral Approach for the United States?

Competition law is no longer a strictly domestic law that deals with monopolies in internal markets only.For instance, megamergers between two foreign companies often tend to be subject to a third country's antitrust investigation.In the case where an antitrust authority assesses whether transborder activities are anticompetitive, the relevant geographic markets normally extend beyond national geographical borders. 1 This international conception of "relevant markets" indicates that competition law is very often closely related to international trade.As a result, international economic institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have discussed competition law and policy and its interaction with international trade law and policy.2