ABSTRACT
Competition policy has been the subject of debate at the international level for some time now, but especially since 1996, when it was included among a number of issues to be discussed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The early multilateral discussions dwelt on how domestic competition policies restrict market access. At the WTO ministerial conference in December 1996, the interaction between trade policy and competition policy was identified as one of the four ‘Singapore issues’ (so called after the host city) that warranted further study. In recent years the discussion has shifted somewhat to embrace a broader view of how competition policy can contribute to economic development. As barriers to trade have continued to fall, factors have become more mobile and technological change has increased, countries have been re-examining the place of competition policy in an overall national framework, often moving ahead of the policy agendas being shaped in international forums.
