Press-release of 08.07.2010

Russia joining the Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan will change the practice of antimonopoly regulation in Russia, said the Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Igor Artemyev, speaking at the Russian - American seminar on antimonopoly enforcement.

"Investigations of cross-border antimonopoly violations will require analysis of the state of competition within the Customs Union rather than within the boundaries of the Russian market. On such markets the landscape can be different from the Russian market, especially when market participants from Belarus or Kazakhstan have strong presence on the market", thinks Igor Artemyev. For instance, on the markets of agricultural products or machine-building as these industries are well-developed in Belarus.

"Therefore, one of our tasks is to see our work through the prospective of the Customs Union. We have already started working on it and should complete the necessary adjustments by mid- next year", says Igor Artemyev. Similar efforts are now being taken by the antimonopoly authorities of Kazakhstan and Belarus.

According to the Head of FAS Russia, "removing the borders will increase market competition".

In the long run, within single economic space such violations will be investigated by supranational bodies as it takes place in the European Union.

The workshop was attended by Russian and American judges, representatives of Russian ministries and government agencies, officers of FAS Russia and layers and economists specializing in antimonopoly law and policy. At the workshop participants learnt about existing antimonopoly enforcement practice in Russia and the USA and discussed the main problems emerging when courts are considering antimonopoly cases.

Presentations at the workshop were given by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Judge Sarah Vance the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Russell Damtoft, the Associate Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Office of International Affairs; and John McReynolds, an attorney of the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice.