Vertical Price Fixing in Europe and the U.S.- The Way to a Uniform Approach for Both Markets

Abstract:

The United States (US) and the European Union (EU) rely on different regimes for vertical price fixing. At first glance, this is hardly surprising. There are similar discrepancies in other fields of business law, e.g. securities regulation and corporate law. However, the fact that differences are common does not necessarily mean that they are justified. The US and the EU (as a whole as well as its member countries) are based on comparable market regimes and consumer needs. Globalization has assimilated both markets. US companies operate on the European market as actively as on their domestic turf and vice versa. They usually even use the same labels (e.g. iPad, Aspirin, Playmobil). This leads to the core question: if the markets are alike, should not the antitrust regime be as well, and if so, how should this shared regime treat vertical price fixing?