Can subsidies for MARs be procompetitive?

In contrast to recent literature, we show that market access requirements (MARs) can be implemented in a procompetitive manner even in the absence of threats in related markets. By focusing on subsidies that are paid only when the requirement is met, we show that a MAR can increase aggregate output relative to free trade provided that the right set of firms is targeted. In the context of a model with multiple Japanese and U.S. firms, we show that a MAR on U.S. imports is procompetitive as long as the U.S. firms are the ones targeted to receive the subsidy.