Ambassador David Aaron, the former US Under Secretary for International Trade, Ms. Charlene Barshefsky , the US Trade Representative and Sir Leon Brittan, the former EU Trade Commissioner, are officials of great integrity and accomplishment. Yet, their negotiations seemed often to be mired in intractable give and take. Contrast this to the relative smoothness of the antitrust process as viewed through the work of EU competition authorities and the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. We posed this question to Mr. Monti. His thoughtful answer is quite revealing.
Internet commerce has many dimensions.
It is fast moving and must ultimately adapt to local cultures and business processes. The fact that it has so far done this successfully, in the tricky areas of antitrust regulations, is both a tribute to the competition authorities of the United States and Europe, and a harbinger of good news for the future of global e-commerce. Russell Reynolds Assoc. All content is copyright.