{"id":10028,"date":"2022-07-03T17:37:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T17:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/"},"modified":"2022-11-19T19:43:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-19T19:43:52","slug":"cartels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/","title":{"rendered":"Cartels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/#Market_Sharing\" title=\"Market Sharing\">Market Sharing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/#Cartels\" title=\"Cartels\">Cartels<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/#Trade_Bodies_I\" title=\"Trade Bodies I\">Trade Bodies I<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/#Trade_Bodies_II\" title=\"Trade Bodies II\">Trade Bodies II<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cartels\/#Standardised_Terms\" title=\"Standardised Terms\">Standardised Terms<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Market_Sharing\"><\/span>Market Sharing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Cartels and market-sharing arrangements constitute one of the most serious breaches of competition law.\u00a0 Cartels may involve blatant and explicit conspiracies to set prices or share markets.<\/p>\n<p>More commonly, cartels operate informally, and of their nature, they are undocumented. They may be difficult to prove.<\/p>\n<p>Cartels typically operate in markets with relatively few participants.\u00a0 There may be a duopoly or oligopoly.\u00a0 However, cartels may also operate where there are many market participants through trade rules.\u00a0 They may operate under the guise of trade associations and joint ventures.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cartels\"><\/span>Cartels<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In exceptional cases, cartels may promote efficiency by combined effort. Exceptionally, a cartel may be justified in a crisis in a particular industry.\u00a0 When an industry is in severe distress, what would otherwise be prohibited as a cartel may be permissible.<\/p>\n<p>The European Commission has imposed very high fines on cartels.\u00a0 Cartel members have been made individually responsible. They are strongly opposed by competition authorities and attract the heaviest sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>Cartels may fix prices or limit output.\u00a0 They may involve limitations on development or investment A cartel may seek to carve up markets geographically.\u00a0 EU law is strongly opposed to agreements which seek to divide the common market.<\/p>\n<p>A quota cartel involves agreements to limit production.\u00a0 The limitation of production will typically increase profits above normal profit levels for the participants, to the detriment of consumers.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trade_Bodies_I\"><\/span>Trade Bodies I<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Trade Association\u2019s rules, regulations, practices, and recommendations may infringe on competition law. By their nature, many trade associations undertake activities which potentially restrain or are restrictive of trade.<\/p>\n<p>Many trades and professions, either by law or by practice, may not be carried on other than by members of a particular trade association or body.\u00a0 \u00a0They may regulate entry into a particular trade or profession.\u00a0 They may set standards.<\/p>\n<p>Trade Associations may collect and disseminate statistical information.\u00a0 They may regulate activities in the trade. They may undertake joint promotions and organise exhibitions and fairs.\u00a0 They may undertake research and development.\u00a0 They may advise and train members.\u00a0 They typically provide a forum for the exchange of views between members of the profession or business.<\/p>\n<p>It is legitimate for professions and traders to form associations and undertake activities for their collective benefit.\u00a0 Most such activities will not be anti-competitive.\u00a0 Some activities which are anti-competitive, may be capable of being justified in the public interest.\u00a0 However, in some cases and sectors, trade associations have been highly restrictive of competition in the interests of their members without any basis which is justifiable in the public interest.<\/p>\n<p>Under the earlier competition legislation (where the key prohibitions were in identical terms), the Competition Authority considered the rules of a number of trade bodies and published criteria as to compliance with competition law.\u00a0 Conditions for admission into a trade association must be fair, objective, necessary and legitimate.\u00a0 The qualifications for entry must be necessary and essential.\u00a0 The ongoing conditions of memberships must be reasonable and based on objective criteria.<\/p>\n<p>Self-regulating bodies are particularly well-positioned to restrict the number of entrants.\u00a0 The Fair Trade Commission and the later Competition Authority inquiries into the professions were critical of practices of restricting the number of entrants.\u00a0 This was likely of itself to constitute a restrictive practice and\/or to be an abuse of a dominant position.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trade_Bodies_II\"><\/span>Trade Bodies II<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Trade bodies and associations which provide arbitrary conditions and practices regarding entry to the trade or profession are likely to be in breach of competition law.\u00a0 Associations that require the approval of existing members or a number of them are likely to be invalid.\u00a0 Requirements that members be of a particular nationality is likely to be discriminatory and impermissible.<\/p>\n<p>Financial requirements to have particular facilities, premises, equipment, insurance etc. are likely to be valid, provided that they are reasonably tailored to a relevant objective requirement.\u00a0 The exchange of information in trade associations is generally permissible.<\/p>\n<p>Trade journals and circulars are typical.\u00a0 Care must be taken to ensure that they are not a forum for price fixing, fixing of terms and conditions of business or other anticompetitive activity. The trade journal should be made available on a non-discriminatory basis.<\/p>\n<p>The exchange of price information, published pricing structures and recommended pricing are likely to breach competition law.\u00a0The fixing of the terms of trade will often breach completion law.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Standardised_Terms\"><\/span>Standardised Terms<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The non-discriminatory standardisation of products and terms of supply, which is not exclusionary, may be permissible.\u00a0\u00a0 Certification and labelling may be permissible, provided that the standards are objective, reasonable and non-discriminatory.<\/p>\n<p>Handbooks, codes of conduct and rules may potentially contain anti-competitive provisions.\u00a0 They are potentially rendered void as anti-competitive and\/or an abuse of dominant position.<\/p>\n<p>The division of markets by trading association is likely to constitute an anti-competitive practice.<\/p>\n<p>The misuse of collective power, including a boycott or limitation applied to dealings with third parties, is likely to be anti-competitive.<\/p>\n<p>Joint Marketing<\/p>\n<p>Joint advertising campaigns may be permissible, provided that they do not involve pricing. Rules and codes which prohibit and restrict advertising will generally be anti-competitive.<\/p>\n<p>It may be legitimate to put restrictions on the terms and content of advertisements.\u00a0 The Competition Authority has taken to view that advertising and price competition is necessary and desirable in the public interest.<\/p>\n<p>Requirements that advertisements must not be misleading, untruthful or likely to bring a profession into dispute will normally be acceptable.\u00a0 Certain types of selling and unsolicited contact calling may be prohibited by the rules.<\/p>\n<p>Trade fairs are permissible in principle.\u00a0 In principle, they should be open wide. Space limitations may justify a limit on numbers.\u00a0 Exclusionary and discriminatory arrangements are likely to be anti-competitive.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-10028\" data-postid=\"10028\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-10028 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Market Sharing Cartels and market-sharing arrangements constitute one of the most serious breaches of competition law.\u00a0 Cartels may involve blatant and explicit conspiracies to set prices or share markets. More commonly, cartels operate informally, and of their nature, they are undocumented. They may be difficult to prove. Cartels typically operate in markets with relatively few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20530,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10028\/revisions\/20530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}