Substantive and Procedural Issues of Cement Sector Investigations in Turkey
Journal Title: Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies - Year 2017, Vol 10, Issue 16
Abstract
In 2016, the Turkish Competition Authority (hereinafter, TCA) published the Cement Sector Inquiry Report (hereinafter, Cement Sector Report) following more than two years of market analysis. One of the reasons for conducting such a market inquiry was the fact that the implementation of competition rules and accuracy of the economic analysis by the TCA in cement cases were frequently criticized. In order to provide some guidance and have better understanding about the competitive dynamics of the cement market, the TCA initiated the inquiry in 2014. Another reason for the inquiry was the importance of the cement industry for the construction sector and the economy of Turkey, as well as numerous competition law concerns in this sector. The article provides an analysis of the substantive and procedural issues in the TCA activity in the cement sector in Turkey. Particular emphasis is placed on the assessment of the Cement Sector Report and common competition law violations in the sector in Turkey based on a review of the decisions of the TCA. Additionally, legal grounds for conducting sector inquiries in Turkey, as well as limits to and potential impact on the TCA’s powers to issue extensive compulsory information requests (in the light of the recent CJEU’s judgements in cement cartel cases) are discussed. Overall, the article provides the reader with a better understanding of the Turkish cement sector dynamics and most common anticompetitive practices there. In conclusion, it is argued that inspite of having a reputation of a “problematic sector”, the behaviour of cement producers and developments in the cement market in Turkey may be justified by economic reasons and the oligopolistic nature of this market.
Authors and Affiliations
Hanna Stakheyeva, Ertugrul Canbolat
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP318806
- DOI 10.7172/1689-9024.YARS.2017.10.16.11
- Views 45
- Downloads 0
The Influence of Economic Theories and Schools on Competition Law in terms of Vertical Agreements
The paper aims at showing the influence and the views espoused by economic theories and schools of economics on competition policy embedded in antitrust law and conducted by competition authorities in the field of vertic...
Recent Developments Regarding the Conduct of Dawn Raids in Poland. The Case of Subsequent Searches of Copied IT Data
2017 brought about a significant and long awaited change in the rules applicable to dawn raids in Poland. After many years of being criticized by scholars and practitioners, the practice of the President of the Office of...
8th International PhD Students’ Conference on Competition Law Białystok, 10 October 2018
The 8th International PhD Students’ Conference on Competition Law took place on 10 October 2018 in Białystok, Poland. The conference focused on EU State aid law. It was organized by the Department of Public Economic Law...
First ‘Gaetano Filangieri’ Conference on Freedom of Commerce ‘Recent developments in EU Competition Law’ Naples, 8–9 May 2018
On 8–9 May 2018 the University of Naples ‘Federico II’ (Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘Federico II’) hosted the international conference ‘Recent developments in EU Competition Law’. The event, which gathered eleven sp...
Life after Menarini: The Conformity of the Hungarian Competition Law Enforcement System with Human Rights Principles
The corporate human rights development was fueled by the increasing amount of fines imposed on both European and national level. For many years, the jurisprudence of the ECtHR has classified administrative, including com...