In recent years, the number of regional trade agreements has proliferated. The great majority, about 90 per cent, of the regional trade agreements allow member countries to use anti-dumping measures against one another. Due to the fact that about 75 per cent of all regional trade agreements include provisions on competiton rules, it may be possible to replace anti-dumping measures with competition rules if there is emphasis placed on this during the trade negotiations.
This report argues that the inclusion of competition rules and other forms of policy harmonisation between member countries is a possible substitute for the use of anti-dumping measures in regional trade agreements. The possibility of replacing anti-dumping measures with competition rules and other relevant harmonisation provisions should be considered by the EU and other countries in future regional trade agreements. Regional trade agreements could, for example, establish a common competition authority in order to render the provisions on competition meaningful.