Ineffective regulation of restrictive business practices

Many restrictive business practices have an impact on international trade and development and thus inevitably affect the interests of more than one country. The restrictive business practices in question may be engaged in by firms singly or collectively, that is, by firms holding dominant market power on an individual or collective basis. In addition, where the practices are collective, the firms may be located in several countries, as in the case of international cartel type arrangements or practices arising out of the activities of transnational corporations. In terms of controlling such practices, remedial action in a given country may well be hampered - for example: by the difficulty that a government can encounter in obtaining information on a firm's activities, because such information is located outside its national frontiers; or by conflicts between governments (legal or diplomatic) which can arise in respect of attempts to secure such information, and in respect of the remedial measures decided upon.