Abuse of Dominance Enforcement under Latin American Competition Laws
Maria Coppola Tineo and Russell Pittman, EAG 06-6,
February 2006
Published in Philip Marsden, ed., Handbook of Research in Trans-Atlantic
Antitrust (2006).
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Abstract:
The spread of competition laws in Latin America has been accompanied, as in Central and
Eastern Europe, by warnings against over-enforcement, and in particular against
enforcement of provisions against the "abuse of a dominant position" in a market
that may discourage legitimate, pro-competitive actions and strategies. We examine
all instances of competition agency findings of abuse of dominance for eight Latin
American countries over the period 2001-2003. We find a) that there have been relatively few
such rulings in most countries, b) that roughly half of such rulings have been in
traditionally "regulated industries", which suggests that the number of rulings may
fall as sectoral regulatory agencies gain more capability and experience, c) that
many rulings have arguably targeted government-imposed restrictions on competition
as well as privately imposed restrictions, and d) that a majority of rulings have
attacked exclusionary rather than exploitative abuses.