Abuse of Superior Bargaining Power and the Application of Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law
Competition Policy Research. 2016. No. 4. P. 64-75.
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Superior bargaining power arises when one trading partner becomes dependent on the other. It can be abused to exploit the counterparty or to grab profits within a product value chain. It is necessary to apply antimonopoly law to superior bargaining power because, firstly, abuse of a superior bargaining power distorts the product value chain and, finally, leads to higher prices or a decline in product quality. When superior bargaining power originates from an intellectual property right, its abuse will hinder both the application of the subject technology and competition in adjacent or downstream markets. Secondly, the economic relationships that abuse of superior bargaining power covers are often macroscopical. Compared to other laws and legislative proposals, anti-monopoly law is the most appropriate way to regulate superior bargaining power.