Rules of Competition under the Stockholm Convention

Abstract

While the origin rule system constitutes the most distinctive feature of the free trade area set up by the Stockholm Convention, the second most distinctive is undoubtedly the approach adopted to distortions of competition in Articles 13 to 17 (the so-called “rules of competition”). Like the basic principles of the origin system, the rules of competition were also part of EFTA’s legacy from the OEEC negotiations. Although the wording of the relevant provisions being discussed in the OEEC at the time of the breakdown of the Free Trade Area negotiations was rather closer to that of the provisions of the Treaty of Rome than to that finally adopted in the Stockholm Conventions¹ the subject matter and the distinctive basic approach of the latter — loosely worded general principles backed up by a consultations and complaints procedure — owe much to the preparatory work undertaken in the OEEC in the form of proposals drawn up by the future EFTA countries. As soon as the constraint of keeping as close as possible to the rules of the Treaty of Rome (imposed by the views of the Six) was removed, the Seven were able to reach rapid agreement in Saltsjöbaden on the corresponding articles of the Stockholm Convention without further discussion of principle on the type of approach to be adopted.