Adding Antitrust to NDRC's Arsenal

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Nathan Bush & Yue Bo (O'Melveny & Myers) discuss Adding Antitrust to NDRC's Arsenal.

ABSTRACT: On December 29, 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC")
released the Anti-Price Monopoly Regulation and the Regulation on the Anti-Price
Monopoly Administrative Enforcement Procedure ("NDRC Procedural Regulation").
Finalizing these measures signifies a new phase in NDRC's enforcement of the
Anti-Monopoly Law ("AML") with respect to price-related violations of the rules
against "monopoly agreements," "abuse of dominance," and "administrative
monopoly." The new measures, however, are less revolutionary than cautiously
evolutionary.

In an era when Beijing's policymaking climate favors robust industrial policy
and selective adaption of Western regulatory practices, NDRC has now integrated
its new role as an antitrust enforcer with its longstanding roles as a price
regulator and economic planner. NDRC's initial AML enforcement efforts
dovetailed with its standing goals of curbing inflation and its established
enforcement practices. Whether NDRC's future AML enforcement focuses on consumer
welfare and economic efficiency or reinforces NDRC's broader agenda of
industrial policy and socioeconomic stabilization remains to be seen.