The relevance of import competition to merger assessment in Australia

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been criticised for failing to take due account of the impact import competition has on domestic firms when assessing whether or not a proposed merger will be likely to substantially lessen competition. This article reviews the approach taken by the ACCC to import competition in its merger assessments. Consideration is given to both the policy adopted by the ACCC and the statistical relevance that has, in fact, been placed on import competition in merger assessment. A conclusion is then drawn as to the appropriateness of the ACCC's current policy and practice.