Norway WT/TPR/S/15
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II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: OBJECTIVES AND FRAMEWORK
(1) Overview ofDevelopments since thePrevious Review
1. Since theprevious Trade Policy Review, Norway 'strade policy hascontinued tofollow two
main tracks ofcloser European integration andmultilateral liberalization. Although membership of
theEuropean Union wasnotaccepted bythepopulation, Norway, asamember oftheEuropean
Economic Area, maintains free-trade-area relationships withtheEU,EFTA member States andavariety
ofother countries; trade regulations have also under theEEA, adopted much ofthe
EU'sacquiscommunautaire.Atthesametime,theconcessionsmadebyNorwayintheUruguayRound,
together withfurther liberalization onanm.f.n. basisinplanning, should helptominimize thepotential
trade-diversion effects ofcloser European integration.
(2) Trade Policy Objectives
(i) TheUruguay Round
2. Norway 'sParliament endorsed theagreements resulting from theUruguay Round on
30November 1994. Implementation ofthecustoms-related agreements wasdiscussed inParliament
on21December 1994, andvirtually allproposals submitted bytheGovernment were accepted.
Norway 'sobligations under theWTO Agreement onSafeguards, theAgreement onSubsidies and
Countervailing Measures andtheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIoftheGeneral Agreement
onTariffs andTrade 1994werebrought intoNorway 'slegislation onParliament 'sunderstanding that
lawsandregulations would beinterpreted andimplemented insuchawaythatpractice would not
contradict thecorresponding rulesunder eachagreement. Existing national legislation wasconsidered
tobeinconformity withtheintentions andobligations setoutintheWTO Agreements onpreshipment
inspection, rules oforigin andcustoms valuation.
3. Atthesametime, theGovernment declared itsintention topresent further proposals regarding
accelerated tariff reductions, improvements intheGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP) scheme
andimproved mechanisms forcommercial instruments during 1995. Quantitative restrictions on
agricultural products wereconverted intoduties, partly reduced, on1January 1995. Norway cuttariffs
tothelevelfortheyear2000 agreed intheWTO Agreement onAgriculture, on1July1995, anda
revised GSPscheme came intoeffect simultaneously. Commitments toreduce m.f.n. tariffs on
manufactured products aretobeaccomplished overafive-year period.
(3) Trade Agreements
(i) Relations withtheEuropean Union andEFTA partners
(a) EFTA andtheEEC/ECSC free-trade agreements
4. Norway wasoneofthefounding members ofEFTA in1960, gradually establishing freetrade
inindustrial products withtheUnited Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Austria andSwitzerland.1
Members introduced more limited preferences foragricultural products andfoodpreparations; from
1July1990 free-trade provisions applied generally alsotofishandfishproducts.
1Finland andIceland joined EFTA later; Liechtenstein, having acustoms union withSwitzerland, hasbecome
anEFTA member initsownright.WT/TPR/S/15
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5. ECandEFTA countries signed theLuxembourg Declaration in1984, creating thebasis for
closer integration between theparties. Formal negotiations toestablish acommon European Economic
Area(EEA) commenced in1990. TheEEAAgreement wassigned inOporto on2May1992. The
free-trade agreements between theECandparticipating EFTA countries, aswell asthe
Stockholm Convention of1960 among EFTA States, remain valid buttheEEAAgreement currently
prevails totheextent thatitgoverns thesame subject matter.
(b) TheEuropean Economic Area
6. TheEEA Agreement, which entered intoforce on1January 1994, currently comprises the
15members oftheEuropean Union, Norway, Iceland andLiechtenstein.2TheAgreement seeks to
form a"homogeneous European Economic Area", embracing thefreemovement ofgoods, persons,
services andcapital under equal conditions ofcompetition. EEA rules correspond tothe
ECacquis communautaire, i.e.theexisting bodyofEClaw,inallareas concerned bytheAgreement
including competition policy, Stateaidandrelated policies suchascompany law,statistics andrelevant
socialandenvironmentallegislation.3Moreover,participantsco-operatecloselyinareassuchasresearch
anddevelopment, education, small andmedium-sized enterprises, consumer protection, audiovisual
matters andelements ofenvironmental andsocial policy.
7. Theinstitutional framework comprises anEEA Council atMinisterial level, anEEA Joint
Committee, anEEA Joint Parliamentary Committee andanEEA Consultative Committee with
representatives ofsocial groups. TheJointCommittee isresponsible fortheeffective implementation
andoperation oftheAgreement.4TheEEA Council isexpected toprovide political impetus andlay
down guidelines.
8. Norway hasjoined intheestablishment ofanEFTA Court ofJustice andanindependent
Surveillance Authority toparallel EUinstitutions. TheEFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) addressed
several Letters ofFormal Notice regarding regulations andpractices inNorway in1994 and1995,
inaccordance withtheformal investigation procedure provided forinArticle 1(2)ofProtocol 3of
theSurveillance andCourt Agreement: (i)lackofimplementation oftheacquis onenvironmental
impact assessment; (ii)legality ofthealcohol monopoly 'sexclusive right toimport, export and
wholesale,andtherelationshipbetweenthealcoholmonopoly'sproductionandretailactivities;(iii)the
method usedtoimplement themedicinal products acquis; (iv)thelegality oftherequirement forforeign
producers ofmedicinal products tohaveanagent established inNorway; (v)thelegality ofthemethod
usedforthecalculation ofthetaxonusedcars; (vi)insufficient implementation ofveterinary acquis
relating tofeeding-stuffs; (vii) insufficient implementation ofveterinary acquis relating towater quality
inmeatandfishprocessing plants; (viii) lackofimplementation oftheacquis inProtocol 47(trade
inwine) andAnnexes IandII(technical regulations, standards andconformity assessment) tothe
EEA Agreement; (ix)request formore detailed information onimplementation oftheacquis relating
toconstruction products, lifts,hotwater boilers andheatgenerators; (x)delayed implementation of
2Theentry intoforce oftheEEA Agreement wasdelayed duetorenegotiation ofcertain elements inthe
agreement andrenewed ratification procedures following therejection ofSwitzerland 'sparticipation intheEEA
inanational referendum inDecember 1992. TheAgreement hasalsobeen adjusted totakeaccount oftwo
participating members '(Finland andSweden) accession totheEU.
3Abrief summary oftheEEA agreement isinGATT document L/7048, 17July1992.
4Decisions aretaken byconsensus. TheEUisrepresented bytheCommission while Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein speak withonevoice.Norway WT/TPR/S/15
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thelabelling oftextile products; (xi)delayed implementation oftheacquis relating tofoodstuffs;
(xii) legality oftherequirement thatimporters ofvideos must have arepresentative inNorway;
(xiii) insufficient scope ofimplementing measures onconsumer credits; (xiv) insufficient
implementation measures onbanking; (xv) thelegality ofthetaxexemption forglasspackaging from
a"basic tax"onreusable beverage packaging. Norway, inturn, notified theESAthattheimport,
export andwholesale monopoly foralcohol would beabolished asof1January 1996 andthatthe
production andretail activities ofthealcohol monopoly willbeseparated.
9. With respect totrade ingoods, theEEA Agreement reduces thelistofexcluded industrial
products(HSChapters25-97)toonlycasein,certainalbuminsanddextrin(consistentwiththedefinitions
ofindustrial andagricultural products alsousedintheUruguay Round). TheEEA Agreement does
notcover agriculture directly, butintroduces anevolutionary clause aiming atprogressive liberalization
ofagricultural trade.5Price compensation arrangements foragricultural rawmaterials included in
processed products havebeenreviewed, resulting inabolition forcertain products. However, Protocol 3
oftheEEA Agreement, which istocover trade incertain processed agricultural products, remains
tobefinalized. Inthemeantime, Norwegian exporters receive preferential treatment ontheindustrial
element inaccordance withProtocol 2ofthe1973 FreeTrade Agreement, butnopreference onthe
(substantially more important) agricultural element forthese products.
10. Trade infishery products isregulated bytheEEA Agreement, Protocol 9oftheAgreement
between theEUandNorway of14May1973, andtheexchange ofletters between Norway andtheEU
of1986. EFTA members apply notariffs ontheirside,buttheEUcontinues tolevytariffs, albeit
reduced, onanumber ofproducts, including some ofmajor interest toNorwegian processors. The
accession ofAustria, Finland andSweden ledtotheconclusion ofanAdditional Protocol tothe1973
FreeTrade Agreement inJuly1995, whereby theEUopened tariff quotas forvarious fishandfish
products.6
11. Intechnical barriers totrade, Norway andother EFTA participants apply theEUlegislation
relating tothefreemovement ofgoods, including theprinciple ofmutual recognition. TheECacquis
alsoapplies toNorwegian public procurement andpurchases andmarketing conditions ofState
monopolies ofacommercial character (alcohol andpharmaceuticals).
12. Anti-dumping measures, countervailing duties andmeasures against illicitcommercial practices
may, under certain conditions, nolonger beapplied among EEA participants. Asnoted below,
competition policy questions arising onatransnational basis areenforced through common (EU)
disciplines withregard toantitrust, merger control andStateaid.Norway, Iceland andLiechtenstein
havejoined theEUPatents Agreement andadjusted toEUlevels regarding protection ofintellectual,
industrial andcommercial property rights.
13. TheECacquis, including public procurement, alsoapplies invarious services sectors, including
banking, insurance, transport andtelecommunications (seeChapter IV). Capital movements are
liberalized throughout theEEA. Freemovement ofpersons implies theright ofestablishment and
5Inprinciple, ECsanitary andphytosanitary legislation covers thewhole oftheEEA, butEFTA countries
arenotobligedtoharmonizetheirlegislationwithregardtothird-countryimports.However,Norwayhasrecently
been discussing anarrangement onsanitary andphytosanitary measures withtheEUinvolving application of
common rules attheborder relative tothird countries andthesame régime withrespect tothesingle market.
6ThetextoftheAdditional Protocol waspublished intheOfficial Journal oftheEuropean Communities,
L/87, 8August 1995.WT/TPR/S/15
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employment forcitizens ofEEAcountries, recognition ofdiplomas andnon-discriminatory application
ofsocial security regulations.
14. TheEEA Agreement allows safeguard measures intheevent of"serious economic, societal
orenvironmental difficulties ofasectoral orregional nature liable topersist" (Article 112), andin
response tobalance-of-payments problems. Measures must apply toallother contracting partners.
Proportionate rebalancing measures maybetaken byanyother party whose rights orobligations under
theAgreement areaffected. Anysafeguard measures andsubsequent actions mustbenotified tothe
Joint Committee where consultations aretobeheldtoreach commonly acceptable solutions.
15. Intheprocess leading totheEEAAgreement, Norway andother EFTA participants adapted
tosome 2,000 legalactsoftheEU.After theentry intoforce oftheAgreement, procedures ensure,
inprinciple, simultaneous introduction ofnewEUlegislation throughout theEEA. EFTA States are
notrequired toaccept newEUrules automatically, butfailure toadapt toEClegislation mayresult
insuspension oftheaffected parts oftheAgreement.
16. Norway hasnotjoined acustoms union -northesingle market -inaccepting theEEA. Norway
hasretained itstreaty-making power andremains inprinciple autonomous initsrelations withthird
countries, maintaining itsownm.f.n. tariffs andbilateral trade arrangements. Theguarantee offree
circulation ofimported goods existing within theECisnotextended fullytotheEEA, although rules
oforigin havebeensimplified andrelaxed, andprovisions grant complete cumulation (EEA origin).
Processing conditions differ incertain sectors, notably intextiles andclothing. Border controls remain
between Norway andEUmembers. TheEEA Agreement nevertheless goesalongwayingranting
Norwegian enterprises access totheEUsingle market onterms equal tothose offirms located inthe
EU. Inreturn forthese advantages, Norway willcontribute toEUfunds andinstitutions until1999.
Participants maywithdraw from theEEA Agreement ononeyear'snotice.
17. Atits46thsession inReykjavik, heldinFebruary 1995, theNordic Council endorsed areport
on"Nordic Cooperation inaNew Era" which analyses Nordic co-operation inlight ofthe
European Union Membership ofSweden andFinland. Thereport confirms thethree pillars offuture
NordicCo-operationasintra-Nordicco-operation,co-operationwithEurope/EU/EEA,andco-operation
withareas adjacent totheNordic region.
(ii) Central andeastern Europe, Turkey andIsrael
18. Asamember ofEFTA, Norway hasconcluded free-trade agreements withBulgaria, theCzech
andSlovak Republics, Hungary, Poland, Romania andSlovenia. Details concerning datesofsignature
andentry intoforce oftheagreements areprovided inTable II.1. Norway andother EFTA members
havealsoconcluded free-trade agreements withTurkey andIsrael.7EFTA free-trade agreements seek
toparallel thetrade provisions oftheEUEurope Agreements andEuro-Mediterranean Association
Agreements.
7Aunilateral arrangement applies toexports from thePalestinian Autonomous Territories (West Bank and
theGaza Strip).Norway WT/TPR/S/15
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Table II.1
Free-trade agreements concluded byNorway, 1991-95
Country Agreement Signed Entry intoforce
EFTA
AgreementsTurkey 10December 1991 1July1992
Czech Republica20March 1992 1July1992
Slovak Republica20March 1992 1July1992
Israelb17September 1992 1January 1993
Romania 10December 1992 1July1993
Poland 10December 1992 1September 1994
Hungary 29March 1993 1October 1993
Bulgaria 29March 1993 1January 1994
Sloveniac13June1995 1July1995
Bilateral
AgreementsEstonia 15June1992 1September 1993
Latvia 16June1992 1August 1993d
Lithuania 16June1992 21August 1993d
TheFaroe Islands 28August 1992 1July1993
a Theoriginal Agreement wasconcluded withtheCzech andSlovak Federal Republic; aProtocol ofsuccession fortheCzech
andSlovak Republics entered intoforce on19April 1993.
b Aunilateral arrangement applies toexports from thePalestinian Autonomous Territories (West Bank/Gaza Strip).
c Pending theratification, theAgreement hasbeenapplied onaprovisional basis since 1July1995.
d Thefree-trade agreements entered intoforce provisionally on16June1992.
Source: Ministry ofForeign Affairs, Oslo; andWTO Secretariat.
(iii) Baltic States
19. On7December 1995, theEFTA States signed free-trade agreements withEstonia, Latvia and
Lithuania.OntheentryintoforceofthesenewEFTAAgreements,scheduledfor1June1996,Norway's
1992bilateralagreementswiththethreeBalticcountrieswillbeterminated.TheAgreementwithEstonia
doesnotcontain anytransition periods. Latvia mayapply customs duties onsome fishproducts
originating inNorway during atransitional period. Theduties shallbeabolished fouryears afterthe
entry intoforce oftheAgreement. Lithuania willabolish duties onalimited number ofindustrial
products during atransitional period ending by1January 2001. On28August 1992, Norway signed
aFreeTrade Agreement withtheFaroe Islands.
20. Therules oforigin intheabove-mentioned agreements arebased onthesame principles as
therules laiddown intheEFTA Convention: originating products havetobewholly produced or
sufficiently worked orprocessed according totheprocessing List. IntheBergen Declaration of
14June1995, EFTA ministers reiterated theimportance ofarriving ataharmonization ofrules of
origin inpreferential trade between theEFTA States, theEUandthecentral andeastern European
countries toachieve pan-European cumulation.
(iv) Other countries
21. TheEFTA States signed declarations onco-operation withEgypt, Morocco andTunisia on
8December 1995which cover trade (technical barriers, information onforeign trade aswellastradeWT/TPR/S/15
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related areasuchascompetition, public procurement andintellectual property rights), investment and
economic co-operation. Joint Committees havebeenestablished toimplement thedeclarations.
22. TheNordiccountries(Denmark,Finland,Iceland,NorwayandSweden)signedajointdeclaration
withtheninemembers oftheSouthern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) in
January 1986.8Co-operation iscentred ontwoprojects; theNordic/SADCC Trade Advisory Group,
primarily dealing withstudies onhowtopromote andexpand intra-regional trade, andtheNorsad Fund,
arevolving fundestablished tofacilitate Nordic investment insouthern Africa.
(4) TheGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP)
23. AccordingtoNorway'sGSPscheme,oneofthemostcomprehensiveamongdevelopedcountries,
developing countries generally enjoy duty-free andunlimited access forexports ofmanufactures
(HSChapters 25-97), except forproducts specifically excluded from thescheme, typically textiles,
clothing andfootwear.9TheNorwegian Government ispresently undertaking areview withtheaim
ofgranting GSPtreatment tocertain textile andclothing products. Thereverse principle hasbeen
applied toagricultural products (HSChapters 1-24); i.e.duty-free andunlimited access onlyforthose
products specifically included inthescheme.
24. TheUruguay Round commitment totarify border measures resulted inanentirely newimport
régime, inseveral cases withveryhightariffs, foragricultural products inNorway. TheGSPscheme
hasaccordingly beenrevised asfarasagriculture isconcerned andanewsystem came intoeffect on
1July1995.10
25. Therevised scheme offers developing country exporters duty-free treatment forspecific
agricultural products (list2),inaddition a100percent tariff reduction isgranted onthe
industrial element ofvarious processed foodstuffs (list3).Moreover, applied tariff ratesarereduced
by50percentoncertain oilsandfats(list4),15percentoncertain flower, fruitandvegetable products
(list5),and10percentonflour, grains andfeeding stuffs (most products enumerated inlist1),meat
andmeatproducts (list6)andproducts included intheWTO minimum access quotas (list7).
26. Least-developed countries aregranted duty-free andunrestricted access forallagricultural
products, except flour, grains andfeeding stuffs (list1),onwhich applied tariff ratesarereduced by
30percentwithin certain indicative ceilings.11Automatic licensing isapplied toimports ofcertain
products under thenewGSPscheme.
8GATT (1991).
9Allexports ofindustrial products from least-developed countries arecovered bythescheme.
10Norway'snotificationofthenewschemeiscontainedinWTOdocumentWT/COMTD/N/6,22August1995.
11Theindicative ceilings amount to20,000 tonnes ofprotein feeding stuffs, 75,000 tonnes ofcarbohydrate
feeding stuffs, and100,000 tonnes ofgrain forhuman consumption.Norway WT/TPR/S/15
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(5) Structure ofTrade Policy Formulation
(i) Institutional structure
27. Witheffect from1January 1993, theMinistry ofIndustry andtheMinistry ofPetroleum and
Energy merged intoasingle Ministry ofIndustry andEnergy. TheGovernment considered itdesirable
toconsolidate energy policy andlarge areas oftheindustrial policy under asingle leadership. The
consolidation improves theopportunities toco-ordinate theuseofmeasures andensures more forceful
andbetter targeted industrial policies.
(ii) Independent review bodies
28. Norway doesnothaveasingle, independent bodywhich mayundertake acomprehensive review
ofgovernment policies. However, theNorwegian Competition Authority (formerly known asthe
Price Directorate) evaluates, attimes onitsowninitiative, theeffects ofgovernment legislation and
regulations oncompetition andefficiency.
(6) General Trade Laws andTrade Legislation
29. Revisions oftrade-related legislation inNorway during thelastfouryears havemainly occurred
asaresult oftheentry intoforce oftheEEA Agreement andtheconsequent needtoalign withthe
ECacquis communautaire. Themain provisions oftheAgreement andArticle 1-3ofProtocol 25to
theAgreement havebeenincorporated intoNorwegian legislation.
30. TheEEA Joint Committee decided on21March 1994, inDecision No.7/94, tochange
Protocol 47andseveral Annexes totheEEA Agreement inorder toinclude EClegislation adopted
intheperiod between 31July1991 and1January 1994 intotheEEA Agreement.
31. TheEClegislation ofDecision No.7/94hasbeenincorporated intoNorwegian lawthrough
theadoption ofstatutory lawsoradministrative regulations. Onlyalimited number ofstatutory laws
hadtobechanged oradopted inorder toimplement these newEEA obligations. Themain legal
frameworknecessaryfortheimplementationoftheEEAAgreementhadbeenadoptedinNorwayalready
intheprocess oftheimplementation oftheEEAAgreement which had31July1991asacut-off date.
Mostoftheadditionalpackage,coveringsome400to500newlegalacts,concernedtechnicalregulations
related tothefreemovement ofgoods, butimportant newrulesalsoemerged withrespect toroadand
airtransport, financial services, theenvironment andsocial security.
32. EClegislationadoptedsubsequentto1January1994isimplemented,whennecessary,asstatutory
lawsoradministrative regulations following theEEA Joint Committee Decisions which include the
EClegislation intheEEAAgreement. Important forNorway 'spetroleum sector, theEEACommittee
decided toinclude theEULicensing Directive intheEEA Agreement on5April 1995. Subject to
approval bytheParliament, itentered intoforce inNorway on1July1995.
33. Newlegislation, incorporating Norway 'sobligations under theAgreement onSafeguards, the
Agreement onImplementation ofArticle VIoftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994(the
Anti-dumping Code), andtheAgreement onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures wereadopted by
Parliament inDecember 1994, ontheunderstanding thatthelawsandregulations would beimplemented
andinterpreted sothatpractice would notcontradict thecorresponding rules under theAgreements.
Theauthoritieshaveconsideredexistinglegislationtobeinconformitywiththeintentionsandobligations
setoutintheagreements onpreshipment inspection, rules oforigin andcustoms valuation.WT/TPR/S/15
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(7) Competition Policy
(i) Competition Legislation
34. AnewCompetition Actwasadopted byNorway on11June1993 andentered intoforce on
1January 1994, replacing thePrice Actof1953.12Aparallel Price Policy Actprovides authorization
forprice regulation andprohibits unreasonable prices andterms ofbusiness.13
35. With theentry intoforce oftheEEA Agreement on1January 1994, theEEA Agreement
provisions oncompetition apply torestrictions oncompetition thatmayaffect trade between Norway
andother EEA States. These provisions, identical tothose oftheECcompetition rules, havebeen
implemented intoNorwegian legislation through special actsandregulations.14
36. ThenewCompetition Actprohibits significant forms ofrestraint oncompetition (Sections 3-1,
3-2,3-3and3-4). Italsoenables theauthorities tointervene against harmful restraints oncompetition
andagainst mergers andacquisition ofenterprises (Sections 3-10and3-11). Suppliers areprohibited
fromfixing orinfluencing prices orrecipients 'prices, mark-ups ordiscounts inconnection withthe
saleofboth goods andservices. Anycollaboration withrespect totenders isalsoprohibited.
Nevertheless, anindividual supplier mayrecommend specific prices forsalesofgoods andservices
oncondition thatsuchprice recommendations arepublicly stated (Sections 3-1and3-2oftheAct).
Furthermore, thenewlegislation includes prohibitions onmarket sharing intheformofareadivision,
customer andquota distribution, specialization andquantity limitation. However, anindividual supplier
mayagree tomarket sharing withhisrecipients ordetermine market sharing forthem, forexample
intheform ofexclusive agreements orselective distribution systems (Section 3-3).
37. TheNorwegian Competition Authority maygrant thefollowing exceptions from these
prohibitions: (i)collaboration onprices inconnection withjointsupply ofgoods andservices is
permitted where undertakings arecollaborating onindividual projects andonthecondition thatthe
clientisinformedofthecollaboration;(ii)pricecollaborationandmarketsharingarepermittedbetween
companies withcommon owners, andbetween companies inthesamegroup ofcompanies; (iii)certain
restraints oncompetition between licensor andlicensee inpatent anddesign licence agreements are
alsopermitted; (v)first-hand sales from producers orproducers 'organizations ofNorwegian
agricultural, forestry andfisheries products arepermitted.
38. Inaddition, on1July1994, theCompetition Authority issued aRegulation (Regulation No.668
of1July1994) exempting certain non-competition clauses fromthemarket-sharing prohibition. The
conditions arethattheagreement must notbeofaduration ofmore thanfiveyears, thepurchaser
acquiresmorethan50percentofthestocks,sharesorcorrespondingequitystakesandthattheagreement
doesnotcover goods andservices other thanthose produced orsoldbytheacquired enterprise before
thetake-over.
12ActNo.65,11June 1993 relating toCompetition inCommercial Activity.
13ActNo.66,11June 1993.
14ActNo.109,27November 1992 relating toImplementation inNorwegian LawoftheMain Agreements
oftheEEA;ActNo.110,27November1992,relatingtoCompetitionRulesintheEEAAgreemen ts;Regulation
No.964, 4December 1992, relating toSubstantive EEA Competition Rules; andRegulation No.966,
4December 1992, relating toProcedural EEA Competition Rules.Norway WT/TPR/S/15
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39. TheCompetition Authority mayintervene against agreements, terms ofbusiness andother
actions thatrestrict competition. TheCompetition Authority may, forinstance, prohibit methods that
maintain orstrengthen adominant position inthemarket, refusals todeal, limitation ofcustomer 's
choices, andrestraints which unduly increase thecosts ofproduction, distribution orsales, orbar
competitors fromthemarket oranymembership inorganizations (Section 3-10). TheActalsorequires
theCompetition Authority tocallattention totherestraining effects oncompetition duetopublic-sector
measures (Section 2-2).
40. TheCompetition Authority mayalsointervene against acquisitions ofenterprises where the
Authority finds thattheacquisition willcreate orstrengthen asignificant restriction ofcompetition
contrary tothepurpose oftheAct,stated inSection 1-1. Normally anyintervention against an
acquisition willhavetobedecided within sixmonths afterafinalagreement onacquisition hasbeen
concluded. Anagreement onamerger orpurchase ofshares, may, onavoluntary basis, bereported
totheCompetitionAuthorityinordertoseekclarificationonwhethertheAuthoritywillwishtointervene
(Section 3-11). In1995, 2,268 merger ormerger plans wereregistered bytheCompetition Authority.
TheAuthority must insuchcases indicate within three months whether ornotanintervention may
takeplace.
(ii) Enforcement
41. TheCompetition Actalsoincludes provisions fortheobligation toprovide theCompetition
Authority withtheinformation itneeds tocarry outitswork. Other enforcement provisions relate
tosecuring ofevidence, period penalty payment andrelinquishment ofgain. Infringements ofthe
prohibition provisions arepunishable byfinesorimprisonment.
42. Inthecourseofitssupervisionactivitiesin1994and1995,theCompetitionAuthorityuncovered
various examples ofnon-compliance ofenterprises withtheAct.Theinfringements mainly concerned
collaboration onprices. In1994, theSupreme Court decided ontheuseasevidence incourt ofthe
statements obtained bytheCompetition Authority during investigations. Onecaseconcerning horizontal
price fixing intenders between contractors ofheavy equipment wasconcluded. In1995, thefour
producers ofcorrugated cardboard andthreegeneral managers werefinedatotalofNKr15.125 million
aswellasimposed relinquishment ofgainofNKr8million forhorizontal price-fixing. Infiveother
cases, enterprises andindividuals were fined forinfringement ofprohibitions against horizontal
price-fixing agreements within themarkets forstorage batteries, roofing paper, wholesale oftubes,
andmotoring schools. Twocases concerning price-fixing between goldsmiths onsilverware were
reported totheprosecuting authority.
43. In1994, theCompetition Authority intervened inonemerger case, theacquisition ofshares
inFrionor AS(producer andexporter offrozen fishproducts) byOrkla AS(various sectors inthe
consumer market). Thedecision wasappealed totheMinistry ofGovernment Administration, which
repealed thedecision. There wasalsointervention against restrictive arrangements orabuse ofdominant
market position inbanking, thesilverware market andtheflower market. Furthermore anexemption
isgranted intheairtransport market, andanapplication forexemption inthepower utility market
wasrejected. In1995, theCompetition Authority intervened against theacquisition ofNorgro AS
byFelleskjopet Ostlandet AS(FO). Bothcompanies areproducers ofgrain feedandwholesalers of
fertilizers. Theacquisition hadparticularly severe effects onthegrain feedmarket inthesouthern
partofNorway, andFOaccepted todivest production facilities inthisarea. Inorder tomaintain
competition ineastern Norway, FOaccepted todivest certain assets. Theacquisition wasaccepted
ontheseconditions. There werealsointerventions against restrictive arrangements andabuse ofmarket
dominance inthemarket forguide services, health food, sewing machines andwristwatches.