ABSTRACT
Exclusive dealings are vertical arrangements in which one party agrees to deal exclusively or predominantly with the other in relation to the sale and purchase of certain products or services. In general, this area of law presents the closest interface between the operations of private contractual laws and antitrust/competition rules, in that while an exclusive arrangement between a producer and a large distributor might foreclose opportunities for rival producers and sellers, every contractual sale and purchase of any commodities or services also reduce competitors’ opportunities to benefit from such a foregone arrangement. Consequently, policy concerns in relation to supply exclusivity would appear to be primarily motivated by the need to prevent any blockages around the windpipes of distribution systems.
