The Janus-Face of Competition Policies

Professor Rahl's critical statement on competition policies unfortunately is accurate. Where such policies have been adopted and implemented, they are two-faced like the Roman god of time, one face looking at the domestic market and the other at the markets of the rest of the world. As far as the domestic market is concerned, the policies that are formulated are, in general, reasonably consistent with the adopted basic principles of effective competition. Of course, in many countries there are still regulations, exemptions, and exceptions that are not easily compatible with these principles, and implementation is sometimes even more difficult.

In comparison to policies relating to foreign markets, however, there is much less hypocrisy and inconsistency, at least between the principles adopted and the policies formulated, with perhaps a little more in implementation.