UK Competition PolicyUK competition policy can be broadly defined as "a means by which governments hope to improve the competitive environment in which businesses operate, in order to improve the overall performance of the economy. » Lees and Lam, 2001) Competition law is enforced by the Office of Fair Trading. Their goal is to make the market fair, by eliminating any unfair practices. Under the heading of competition policy, a number of factors are taken into account. Competition law is used to impose certain regulations on businesses. A number of different statutes are used to implement the law. The Competition Act 1998 covers issues such as the prevention of cartels and the prevention of abuse of dominant market position. The Companies Act 2002 allows for merger investigations. Other activities carried out by the Office of Fair Trading include educating businesses about any changes to the law that could affect them, and promoting a "strong culture of competition across a wide range of markets" (webpage on the application of competition). Many UK businesses will also be affected by other international laws. Articles 81 and 82 of the European Community will be taken into account in certain cases. One of the main features of UK competition policy is that it attempts to prevent companies from abusing their dominant market position. Some companies become very successful and powerful within the industry in which they operate. “European companies suspected of acquiring monopoly power by creating barriers to entry, colluding on prices or carrying out mergers may be investigated under European Union law” (Lees and Lam, 2001) Market dominance usually occurs for one of two reasons: either the firm performs well and a natural monopoly occurs, or the firm behaves unfairly. UK competition policy exists to eliminate abuse of position, not the fact that they are in that position, i.e. it is concerned with the second of these reasons. The situation is different from that in the United States, where firms are “prohibited from monopolizing or attempting to monopolize a market and where the growth of a dominant position is curbed at an early stage” (Lees and Lam)., 2001.)