Exclusionary Conduct in Turkish Competition Law

The Guidelines on the Assessment of Exclusionary Conduct by Dominant Undertakings (Guidelines) define “abuse” as when a dominant undertaking takes advantages of its market power to engage in activities which are likely, directly or indirectly, to reduce consumer welfare. Although abuse can objectively be assessed in three categories (i.e., exploitative, exclusionary and discriminatory practices), there is no rigid separation between them. Furthermore, Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (Law No. 4054) does not explicitly define “exclusionary abuse”. In practice, as evidenced by many precedents of the Turkish Competition Board (Board), exclusionary pricing, exclusive dealing, leveraging, and refusing to deal may amount to exclusionary abuse.

The Board’s assessments on exclusionary conduct concern whether the conduct of the dominant undertaking results (or possibly will result) in foreclosure of the market. According to the Guidelines, anti-competitive market foreclosure means that a dominant undertaking obstructs or prevents current or potential competitors to reach supply sources/market, which would result in diminishing consumer welfare. Consumer harm may occur in the form of increased prices, decreased product quality and level of innovation, and reduced variety of goods and services.

For more information on exclusionary conduct in Turkish competition law, please feel free to reach out to ELIG Gurkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or through gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com.