Trans-national Competition Law and the WTO

This article addresses certain competition-related issues that parties to a trans-national merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction must face, preferably during the strategic planning phase. The ultimate focus will be on the suitability vel non of the World Trade Organization (WTO) serving, as has been proposed by some scholars and political bodies, as a form of supranational competition law authority with respect to merger clearance. The conclusion reached is that the WTO is institutionally ill-suited for such a role but can, nonetheless, perform a useful albeit considerably more modest function as an enforcer of several purely procedural reforms suggested herein.