Agree to disagree: regulatory cooperation or hesitation in the EU and US

A closer look at the European and American competition rules reveals two divergent regulatory approaches guided by the respective ethoi of 'gentlemanly competition‘ and 'cowboy capitalism‘. The resulting behaviours of the individual and the sector also promote varying conventionalities of business strategy. The increased momentum of globalisation and positive comity in environments of regulatory flux (deregulation, privatisation and re-regulation) engenders regulatory risk that policymakers will self-protect or protect competitors rather than competition, thereby confusing the ends of the rules with their means.