One fundamental difference between the European and American approaches to unilateral conduct relates to the treatment of exploitative conduct, including excessive prices. While the mere charging of monopoly prices is not unlawful under US antitrust law, which recognizes high prices as an important element of the free-market system that rewards innovation, exploitative practices by a dominant company are in principle considered abusive under EU law, even if the exploitative conduct is not accompanied by other anticompetitive practices. Notably, article 102 TFEU explicitly considers that an abuse of dominant position may in particular consist in “directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions”.
Insights from the final panel at the CRA Brussels Conference 2025: Shaping the future of digital regulation and competition
The closing panel from 2025 CRA Brussels Conference, “Digital Regulation in Action: The DMA, AI, and the Future of Competition” moderated by Dr Matteo Foschi