A Vision for International Antitrust at the WTO

Market competition increasingly takes place at a global level, yet it is regulated by national antitrust agencies and courts. This gives domestic competition policies an extra-territorial dimension, whereby nations can distort trade at the expense of fair competition and global innovation. Against this backdrop, international efforts to cooperate on antitrust policy so far have proven to be inadequate and insufficient. The world needs a principled new approach and framework for antitrust that fosters innovation and minimizes the risks of trade distortions. ITIF and several members of the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA) have articulated such a framework, arguing that the best way to tackle the issue of international antitrust would be through the auspices of the World Trade Organization.

ITIF hosted an expert panel discussion exploring the implications of GTIPA’s declaration of principles, and prospects for the vision to become a reality.