ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a specific instance of a transnational merger proposal between General Electric (GE) and Honeywell, both United States (US) companies involved in avionics. It addresses the issues related to international antitrust policy in the light of the ruling. The chapter offers an historical overview of the extraterritorial application of antitrust policy. The issue of the legal personality of the European Union (EU) is crucial to a discussion of extraterritoriality. While the EU is a made up of a group of sovereign states, in a number of policy fields, it acts collectively and thus has a legal personality akin to a state in international public law. It also offers a detailed analysis of the GE/Honeywell case. The chapter argues that there is the potential for an emerging gulf in the antitrust emphasis of the US and EU. It evaluates the public policymaking implications of the GE/Honeywell case.
