FAS proposes to extrapolate the practice of Fair Practice Codes
The Antimonopoly Service proposes to implement such self-regulation experience in BRICS, CIS and EAEU.
On 19 May 2016, at the VI Petersburg International Legal Forum representatives of the antimonopoly bodies from different countries across the globe, international organizations and companies discussed development of competition on socially-important markets and experience of BRICS, EAEU and CIA in this field.
“We should combine our efforts against unfair practices that are brought to our countries, particular, by international corporations. Apart from imperative methods the tools employed by the government include also self-regulation, the so-called “soft force””, pointed out the Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) Igor Artemiev.
As a positive practice of the Russian Federation on implementing self-regulation, he outlined the devised and well-proven: Fair Practice Code for relations between retail chains and consumer goods suppliers (2012), the Code of Conduct for car manufacturers and distributors on the markets of sales of new cars and spare parts to them (2013), the Fair Practice Code for the pharmaceutical industry (2016).
The Code adopted in the food industry created conditions for market participants observing the ethical rules and enhanced efficiency of interaction between retail chains and suppliers. The Code in the car manufacturing field ensured non-discriminatory access to spare parts, intensified competition between authorized and non-authorized service centres.
On 19 April 2016 the Fair Practice Code for the pharmaceutical industry was presented, the objective of which is self-regulation of pharmaceutical business in the Russian Federation and fair and open rules of competition.
The Head of FAS also discussed another non-imperative regulatory measure: antimonopoly compliance, underlying its robust development in Russia.
Finally, Igor Artemiev emphasized that “BRICS population makes nearly half of world consumers”, so eliminating anticompetitive practices and employing “soft force” on socially important sectors of BRICS, CIS and EAEU economies, in his opinion, “can change the world”.
In the course of the event, the Head of Armenian State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition, Artak Shaboyan, awarded Mr. Artemiev a Commemorative Medal from the Prime-Minister of the Republic of Armenia for his significant contribution in developing economic competition in Armenia and facilitating collaboration between the antimonopoly bodies of the CIS member-states.
