Regulation of export cartel in South African competition law and Southern African development community

Abstract

An export cartel is an agreement or arrangement between exporters to act collusively in respect of any of their export activity.Export cartels are often professed as having little to no effect on the domestic market in which they operate,thus, jurisdictions are often less incentivised to pursue an export cartel in their territory than they would to a traditional hard core cartel. This is evident in South Africa where export cartels are exempt from the Competition laws if those cartels do not have a substantial effect on the South African market. While this 'beggar thy neighbour' approach was considered the norm for decades, with the development of globalisation and international trade, export cartels affect the goal of achieving a deeper intergretion in a free trade area like the Southeren Development Community. The calls for reform are particulary important for developing countries because they are likey to suffer the effects of an export cartel, while not having the ability to challenge these themselves. This is due to lack of a comprehensive competition law systemn and a lack of resources to gather the necessary evidence to bring a claim. Thus, a deeper understannding is required concerning the effects of export cartels and it calls for enforcement collaborations at a regional level. This article will explore the efffects of export cartels and the inconsistency between socioeconomic objectives and competition law in South Africa. Furthermore, the regulation of competition law in the SADC region and international trade laws.