UNCTAD/PRESS/AYT/2005/1

The 5th United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices (known as the UN Set of Competition) was opened today in Antalya by the Acting Prime Minister of Turkey, H.E Mr. Abdüllatif Şener, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, and the President of the Turkish Competition Authority, Mr. Mustafa Palak.

UNCTAD is the United Nations’ focal point on trade and development.  It has helped over 60 developing countries to establish theır national competition law and policy, as well as consumer protection, with the support of donor countries such as Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.  The 5th Review Conference highlights Turkey’s important role as a bridge between developing and developed countries. Turkey has set an example for many developing countries in its efforts for succesful development.  The conference also reflects Turkey’s full support for the efforts of the United Nations in the field of competition law and policy. UNCTAD is cooperating closely with Turkey in a number of areas, including competition policy, and the Secretary-General of UNCTAD has expressed his deep appreciation for Turkey’s support for UNCTAD’s programmes in this field.

The UN Set on Competition was unanimously adopted 25 years ago by the General Assembly of the United Nations.  It is at present the sole fully multilateral and universally applicable instrument dealing with competition law and policy, which it places within a broad trade and development context.  A key objective of the Set is to mobilize and coordinate national and international action to deal with anti-competitive practices adversely affecting international trade, particularly developing countries’ trade, as well as their economic development.  Anti-competitive practices include, for example, cartels and bid-rigging, abuses of dominant position by monopolies and dominant firms, and anti-competitive mergers and takeovers.  The Antalya conference is the fifth five-yearly UN conference to review the application of the Set and consider proposals for its improvement.

One highlight of the crowded agenda of the Conference is the first ever voluntary peer review of competition laws of member countries taking place in the United Nations.  Jamaica and Kenya have volunteered to go through the process of peer review.  The Conference will also be the occassion to discuss several important subjects related to the implementation of the UN Set, including international cooperation agreements in the field of competition policy and competition provisions in regional trade agreements; how to operationalize special and differential treatment in the area of competition law; and the application of competition policy to the informal sector.  A business forum will also be held to discuss the role of competiton policy for the development of a competitive private sector. 

There has been a trend towards inclusion of competition-related provisions in trade agreements, particularly between developed and developing countries, and the implications of this trend have to be assessed. The Secretary-General of UNCTAD will be launching a book on this subject entitled “Competition Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements: How to Assure Development Gains.  The book was prepared by UNCTAD with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. 

For more information contact:
UNCTAD Press Office
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E: unctadpress@unctad.org
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