The Comparison of the US and EU Agricultural Antitrust Exemptions

• Authors: Martin Milán Csirszki

Abstracts

FR

Cet article vise à comparer les exemptions sectorielles des règles de concurrence pour l’agriculture qui existent aux États-Unis (US) et dans l’Union européenne (UE). Les origines de la position privilégiée de l’agriculture au regard du droit de la concurrence remontent à 1914. La section 6 du Clayton Act a été la première loi américaine à exempter certaines coopératives. En 1922, la protection a été étendue à un plus large éventail d’entités agricoles par le Capper-Volstead Act. Ces deux lois ont depuis lors déterminé la portée et l’étendue de l’exemption américaine, mais ont évolué par le biais de l’interprétation judiciaire. L’UE dispose d’une exemption similaire pour l’agriculture depuis les débuts de l’intégration européenne. Après avoir présenté brièvement les explications probables du traitement privilégié de ce secteur dans le cadre du droit de la concurrence, l’article vise à analyser les réglementations en vigueur afin d’explorer leurs similitudes et leurs différences. L’analyse cherche également à répondre à la question de savoir si l’»accusation» selon laquelle le droit européen de la concurrence – contrairement au régime antitrust américain – n’est pas purement fondé sur des considérations d’efficacité peut également être étendue au traitement privilégié du secteur agricole. Enfin, les règles en vigueur dans les deux juridictions sont comparées et des conclusions sont tirées.

EN

The article aims to compare the sectoral antitrust exemption for agriculture that exists in the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). The roots for the privileged position of agriculture under antitrust laws date back to 1914. Section 6 of the Clayton Act was the first US law which exempted certain cooperatives. In 1922, the protection was extended to a broader range of agricultural entities by the Capper-Volstead Act. These two acts have since then determined the scope and extent of the US exemption but have evolved through judiciary interpretation. The EU has had a similar exemption for agriculture since the beginnings of European integration. After presenting briefly the likely explanations for the privileged treatment of this sector under antitrust, the article aims to analyse the regulations in force in order to explore their similarities and differences. The analysis also seeks to answer the question of whether the ‘accusation’ that EU competition law – in contrast with the US antitrust regime – is not purely based on efficiency considerations can also be extended to the agricultural sector’s privileged treatment. In the end, the rules in force of the two jurisdictions are compared and conclusions drawn.

Keywords

EN

antitrust exemption; agriculture; European Union; United States; comparison

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Warszawski. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Zarządzania
• Journal: Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 25
• Pages: 137-174

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Martin Milán Csirszki

• Faculty of Law, University of Miskolc

• https://orcid.org/0000000243397058

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Identifiers

DOI

10.7172/1689-9024.YARS.2022.15.25.6

Biblioteka Nauki

2158409