Complying with Competition Law Page 23

Complying with Competition Law

All of the general principles of compliance by business are
applicable to trade associations. There is no special
competition law regime for trade associations. However, as these
are in essence fora for discussion between various businesses,
mostly competitors, special care should be taken on what is
discussed and what is agreed.

For this reason the Authority has published comprehensive
guidance specifically aimed at trade associations: Guidance
Notice on Activities of Trade Associations and Compliance with
Competition Law. This is available on our website.

Experience shows, both locally and internationally, that
anti-competitive conduct between competitors can often be
organised by or through trade associations. This can happen in
two ways:

where the trade association itself serves as a tool to
co-ordinate the business activities of its members or is
used as a platform where market information such as
price, production volumes and sales conditions is shared
between members, and

where members of a trade association use the
opportunity of contact and co-operation provided by the
trade association to facilitate anti-competitive conduct
between themselves.

Specific areas of concern which trade associations should be
especially careful to avoid (even threats of):

co-ordinated conduct by members of a trade
association, such as fixing or `freezing' prices or
agreeing on trading conditions, and

co-ordinated measures, for example to bring a `rogue
competitor' who is offering reduced prices into line,
or group boycotts against suppliers or buyers.