§3.3.1.5 Trade flows and pattern of shipments

75. An analysis of the pattern and evolution of shipments and trade flows and of the drivers of such flows may indicate the absence or existence of barriers. The responsiveness of such flows to changes in relative supply conditions may also indicate the degree of competitive pressure exerted by suppliers located outside the candidate geographic market on the undertaking(s) involved. In some cases, it may be possible to quantify this constraint, for example by econometrically estimating import elasticities or through event studies demonstrating the responsiveness of imports to price changes (102). However, the mere existence of trade flows or their responsiveness to changes in relative supply conditions does not necessarily imply that conditions of competition in the area from which the trade flows originate are sufficiently homogeneous to those in the candidate geographic market to warrant an expansion of the relevant geographic market. When this is not the case, and as explained in paragraph 43, the Commission takes the competitive constraints (if any) from importers on the undertaking(s) involved into account in the competitive assessment (including with respect to market shares and potential future expansion), rather than by expanding the relevant geographic market.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07