Refusal to deal (also known as a group boycott) is one of several anti-competitive practices forbidden in countries which have restricted market economies. For example:
Agreements involving
competitors that involve restricting the
supply of goods are prohibited if they have the purpose or effect of substantially lessening
competition in a market in which the businesses operate.
—Australian Competition & Consumer Commission,
Refusal to deal [1]
"Refusal to deal" includes any agreement which restricts, or is likely to restrict, by any method the persons or classes of persons to whom goods are sold or from whom goods are bought
—The Competition Act, 2002 (India) S4-d
[edit] History
A group boycott was originated from Charles Boycott (1832–1897), a British land agent. In 1880, the Irish Land League started conducting a campaign to stop the exploitation of tenant farmers[citation needed], based on the three F's: Fair rent, Fixity of tenure, and Free sale. As a result, laborers on the farm of John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne, Boycott's employer, refused to harvest. Charles attempted to intervene with the Irish campaign, but he was ostracized by the community and stopped. As a result, the verb "to boycott" stuck.
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (1). Refusal to deal. ACCC Publishing Unit. ISBN 1-921227-28-1. http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/304569.
[edit] See also
