GOVT: NO UNFAIR DEALING ALLOWED

Minister of Legal Affairs, Camille Robinson-Regis yesterday revealed Government’s intention to institute a Fair Trading Act as a deterrent to anti-competitive practices throughout the economy. This, she explained, is part of Government’s objective to prevent existing monopolies from abusing their power, new monopolies from being created through mergers and to eliminate anti-competitive agreements.

The Minister was addressing the opening of a two-day seminar on Competition Law and Policy, which was organised by the TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA), in collaboration with Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL), Caribbean Business Services Limited (CBSL) and the European Union at the Crowne Plaza hotel. “The government,” she said, “recognises that in a small economy, competition policy must entail elaborate administrative or burdensome compliance procedures. Its processes must focus only on real abuses which are actually found in Trinidad and Tobago.” Robinson-Regis went further to disclose that the Fair Trading Act would entail the establishment of a Fair Trading Commission and Tribunal that would be responsible for detecting, investigating, penalising various agreement prohibitions set out by the Government. These prohibitions include agreements to fix selling prices or buying prices, bid-rigging, agreements to limit production or investment, agreements to refuse to supply certain categories of customer or to subject them to burdensome conditions and agreements to make sales subject to extraneous conditions.

The Commission, which will be a quasi judicial body acting independently of the government, will have powers of investigation inclusive of the power to subpoena witnesses or enter premises and seize relevant documents. In an effort to assure fairness and equity, the Act will also provide explicit rights for private action, which will enable anyone injured by a violation of the law, to recover damages, she explained. She further noted that the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Consumer Affairs Division, will be working closely with the Fair Trading Commission to maintain active channels for the dissemination of information to consumers and the collection and resolution of consumer complaints. She said, “the success or in some cases, survival of small business would be dependent on the implementation of the Fair Trading Act to ensure that they are not consumed by larger businesses because of anti-competitive practices.” Robinson-Regis maintained that these businesses would then have little opportunity to exploit monopolistic power, being forced to accept the discipline of competition.