The article contends that the case for the beneficial effects and rationale of the on-going trade policy expansion into the competition realm has already been proven and, apart from political aspects, exhausted. The authors take the reverse angle to approach the interface between trade and competition in a new and more challenging perspective. Could competition policy benefit from the trade policy contamination?
Could modern competition policy improve its rigour and internal coherence as a result of an international convergence that will naturally try to shift and broaden the present competition legal paradigm? How would competition policy assess controversial anti-trust practices such as export cartels and certain vertical restraints under a new virtual global welfare standard?
The authors use economic models to hint at a number of legal answers. The article is intended to trigger an innovative follow-up debate.
World Competition