EFFECTIVE WORK TO PREVENT CROSS BORDER CARTELS IS BASED ON MUTUAL TRUST OF REGULATORS

Experts discussed the specifics of dealing with such violations during the crisis on the platform of the BRICS Antimonopoly Center

On July 22, 2020, the BRICS Antimonopoly Center held an international online seminar "Fighting cross-border cartels during the crisis through international cooperation". The FAS Russia was represented at the event by the Deputy Head of the Anti-Cartel Department of the FAS Russia, Mukhamed Khamukov.

The discussion focused on the prospects for international cooperation of antimonopoly authorities, primarily in developing countries, in times of crisis. Representatives of international organizations, public authorities, leading global researchers and legal practitioners discussed ways to identify cross-border cartels and tools to combat them.

In his speech, Mukhamed Khamukov noted that in order to effectively detect and suppress cross-border cartels and other similar violations, regulators need to "determine the level of trust between each other, find a balance between national and global interests, and of course differentiate the requirements for the protection of information that antimonopoly authorities have in each specific case."

"There are cases when the decision of the antimonopoly authority is based on materials that do not have any restrictions. However, the exchange of such information may be difficult due to various circumstances. To resolve these issues, we need to create appropriate international legal instruments that will define common rules and opportunities for interaction," the FAS representative said.

The participants also discussed the book "Fighting Cross-Border Cartels: The Perspective of the Young and Small Competition Authorities" by Pierre Horna, legal officer of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published this year.

According to Mukhamed Khamukov, "the work is relevant and practical in nature, provides an overview of the existing mechanisms of international cooperation when countering cross-border cartels and provides valuable recommendations to "young" and small antimonopoly authorities for building cooperation with more experienced foreign regulators and supranational regulators."

The discussion was also attended by Alexey Ivanov, Director of the HSE-Skolkovo Institute of Law and Development, Director of the BRICS Antimonopoly Center, William Kovacic, Professor of Duke University (USA), Teresa Moreira, Head of UNCTAD's Competition and Consumer Protection Division,  Antonio Capobianco, Head of the Competition Department of the OECD, Pierre Horna, Chief Legal Adviser of the Competition Development and Consumer Protection Department of UNCTAD, Marisa Tierno, Deputy Head of the EU Competition Directorate,  Hardin Ratshisusu, Deputy Head of the Competition Commission of the Republic of South Africa, Juan David Gutierrez Director of the Latin American Division of ASCOLA, Dave Anderson, managing partner of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner-Brussels, Claudio Lombardi, associate Professor of KIMEP University.