253 / 521
Abuse through vertical agreements can be classified as follows:
exclusive purchase agreements, tying and discrimination.
Exclusive Purchase Agreements
An undertaking in the dominant position can push its competitors
out of the market and lessen the competition by forcing exclusive
agreements. This will limit customer preferences.
In these kinds of agreements the buyer is under the obligation to
supply the goods and services subject to the agreement from an exclu-
sive supplier. In order to create exclusionary effect, these agreements
have to provide provisions, which will restrict purchase and sale of
competitor goods, or exclusive purchase obligation should cover goods
of the competitors
3
.
Exclusive practices contain anti-competitive outcomes such as,
monopolization of producers’ distribution service, substantial lessen-
ing of competition, entry barriers and prevention of competitor growth.
Many exclusive agreements were subject to the Competition Board
(“Board”) decisions in Turkey. In Karbogaz decision
4
the undertaking
in the dominant position in liquid carbon dioxide market executed
long-term exclusive agreements with its customer and abused its dom-
inant position. It was claimed that the undertaking is “restricting mar-
ket activities of present or prospective competitors by creating entry
barriers”. The Board ruled administrative fine and requested the
amendment of the agreements.
Another example is the Turkcell decision. Turkcell is an undertak-
ing in the dominant position in GSM service and mobile marketing ser-
vice market. In this decision it was claimed that Turkcell used its dom-
inance and forced its customers to get service exclusively from
Turkcell. The Board decided that the exclusivity created by Turkcell on
its customers pushed competitors out of the market and therefore is an
abuse of dominant position
5
.
COMPETITION LAW
237
3
As an example see the decision, Case 85/76 Hoffman-La Roche v Commission (1979) ECR
461, (1979) 3 CMLR 211, p.109.
4
Board decision dated 23.8.2002 and numbered 02-49/634-257.
5
Board decision dated 23.12.2009 and numbered 09-60/1490-379.