Countries use non-tariff barriers (NTBs) as instruments of industrial policy. NTBs often are difficult to observe and hard to adjust because they are part of national regulations. NTBs are inflexible in comparison to tariffs. The number of NTBs has expanded significantly. The article concludes that NTBs can impede technological change and harm incentives to innovate.Read More
This article addresses three interrelated questions, namely: back to the basics, what are industrial policies? Granted that, is a new return of industrial policies actually in the making? And finally, what is there to be done? I argue that current “industrial policies” fall well short of any public intervention which (a) defines the boundaries between...Read More
This special issue examines the coexistence of industrial and competition policy in a period of geopolitical rivalry and rapid technological change. The contributions analyze these tensions through three lenses: innovation economics, legal doctrine, and digital markets. Each paper offers a distinct perspective on how government intervention can both strengthen and weaken competitiveness. Together, the authors...Read More
This issue presents recent developments in EU competition law enforcement in digital markets. It examines the European Commission’s first non-compliance decisions under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) against Apple and Meta, as well as its decision concerning coordination in the online food delivery sector. The analysis focuses on how these cases illustrate the Commission’s emerging...Read More
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) uses per se prohibitions to regulate “gatekeepers,” prioritising rapid enforcement over case-specific effects analysis. This article assesses whether, despite the absence of a formal efficiency defence, certain efficiencies—particularly those enhancing contestability—can influence DMA procedures. We identify limited entry points, such as proportionality in compliance measures, remedy design, enforcement priorities,...Read More
There were a number of decisions from June through September 2025 including: (1) a fifth recent decision (U.S. et al. v. Apple) refusing to apply the more defense-friendly refusal-to-deal standard; (2) yet another lower court decision (involving the “famed” Hermès Birkin bag) declining to apply a per se illegal standard to a tying claim brought...Read More
The EU’s quest for “future-proof” AI regulation is a fantasy. AI evolves through emergent properties that defy prediction, yet Brussels continues to draft rules with an industrial, linear mindset. The result is a regulatory immune system that can detect but not respond. The path forward is adaptive regulation: modular rules, real-time sensing, plural triggers, and...Read More
This article applies the principal–agent framework to the use of autonomous AI systems in digital markets. It examines the challenge of aligning AI agents with the interests of end-users, given that many systems may also reflect the objectives of developers, platform providers, or advertisers. These “shadow principals” create persistent information asymmetries and reduce user control....Read More
Artificial Intelligence technologies prompt several doctrinal shifts in competition law. For AI market governance, this means moving toward personalized enforcement. Rather than applying one-size-fits-all legal tests, regulators may need to tailor rules and liability standards by sector, by actor, or by the sophistication of algorithms in use. This approach requires greater transparency, context-sensitive oversight, and...Read More
The European Union’s AI Act applies across a broad range of domains and use cases, aiming to promote horizontal consistency and prevent the sectoral fragmentation of AI governance. This paper identifies five key challenges in operationalizing such horizontal AI regulation and explores their implications for the design of an effective institutional governance framework. Together, these...Read More
This article explores Japan’s emerging approach to regulating generative AI, balancing innovation and risk. The government emphasizes soft, sector-specific regulation guided by international norms, while the 2025 AI Bill outlines policies promoting AI development and safety. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is conducting a market study to assess competitive concerns in generative AI, and...Read More
