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Feeding the nation in times of crisis: the relaxation of competition law in the United Kingdom

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Article

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Abstract

jats:pIn order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic it has been recognized universally that cooperation between competitors will be necessary. It is also recognized that some of the cooperation contemplated will infringe competition law. A number of techniques are available by which conduct that infringes competition law can escape prohibition. Two techniques used have been to issue guidance on how the competition authority understands the law to apply and to articulate how it will exercise its discretion when deciding to take enforcement action. The combination of these two techniques provides a degree of comfort. In the United Kingdom, the government has gone further by identifying necessary cooperation and excluding such cooperation from competition law on grounds of public policy, in one instance for those in the groceries supply chain. The use of an exclusion order means that there is political accountability for the consequences the decision to set aside competition law will have, both for competitors, others in the supply chain, and for different consumer groups. For parties to excluded agreements, there is certainty ex ante that the cooperation is immune from competition challenge. Avoiding the need to assess the compatibility of an agreement with competition law, rather than permission to engage in incompatible behaviour, can be seen as the real value of the public policy exclusion order granted in relation to groceries.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

4801 Commercial Law, 48 Law and Legal Studies, 4806 Private Law and Civil Obligations

Journal Title

Competition Law Journal

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1476-9085
2516-5771

Volume Title

19

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing

Rights

All rights reserved