Abusive Prices in Spanish Competition Law

By Antonio Robles Martín-Laborda (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

The aim of this paper is to determine whether the prohibition on unfair prices, laid down in Article 2.2 (a) of the Spanish Competition Act (the national provision parallel with Article 102 (a) TFEU), should be interpreted in the sense that it relates only to prices with the effect of hindering the maintenance of the degree of competition still existing in the market or the growth of that competition (exclusionary prices), or, on the contrary, it should also include monopoly prices imposed by dominant firms with the only aim of maximizing its profits, even when they do not restrict competition (exploitative prices).

Taking account of conceptual, economic and institutional reasons, it is submitted that purely exploitative prices should be outside the scope of competition law and, when necessary, be regulated by the empowered legislative body.

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