A horizontal monopoly agreement refers to an arrangement
between competing business operators regarding the price, output,
sales market and technical restrictions of their competing products
or services. These agreements on price fixing, output restriction,
market division, technology restriction and trade boycott often
directly exclude and restrict competition, harming the interests of
consumers – and are regarded as major monopolistic misconduct
in most countries and regions. Hence, they are under strict
regulation and control.
CURRENT LEGISLATION
Under the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), the principle of
“prohibition + exemption” is adopted for determination
of illegality of horizontal monopoly agreements. Article 13
prohibits competing business operators from reaching six types of
monopoly agreements, while article 15 further enumerates seven
circumstances where article 13 may not apply. The common
denominator is if benefits of the agreement between the
