Consumer Protection, Standards and Antitrust Law in the EU and US: A Comparative Review

Consumer Protection, Standards and Antitrust Law in the EU and US: A Comparative Review Rebecca Spitzmiller Abstract: The objective of this text is to provide a general comparative review of the EU and US legal structures that set and coordinate standards. It considers their recent development and the underlying policies within this broad field, and the effects these regimes have on laws regarding consumer protection and their relevance to competition law. It reveals the achievements, obstacles and challenges of harmonizing standardization processes, also in light of recent developments in this field, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It also provides a brief overview of the main standard-setting organizations working worldwide aiming to achieve a number of goals, touching on criticisms and support of the standardization process itself. It reviews the various ways that consumer-protection issues are influenced by the application of competition law to matters involving standards in both the EU and the US. Last, it touches on the issue of standard setters’ potential tort liability, also in a comparative light.