March 18, 2016: The Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trading Commission (TTFTC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the CARICOM Secretariat hosted a Competition Law and Policy Workshop 17 March – 18 March 2016 at the Courtyard by Marriott, Port of Spain. The Workshop focussed on the institutional framework required for the enforcement of competition law and policy with particular emphasis on the analytical tools for the definition of a relevant market, the legal and economic assessment of abuse of a dominant position and the relationship between sector regulation and competition law enforcement.
Mr. Massimiliano Gangi, a renowned expert in the design and enforcement of competition law and policy and a former senior official in the Italian Competition Authority and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) facilitated the two day session. He noted that ‘Trinidad and Tobago has already partially proclaimed the Fair Trading Act and it is anticipated that remaining parts of the legislation will be proclaimed in the near future but this will require a better understanding of the principles of competition law and policy by the relevant stakeholders’. Mr. Gangi held discussions on areas such as the definition of a relevant market, the assessment of exclusionary and exploitative practices, the detection and prosecution of cartel agreements and the assessment of mergers. He cited examples from the European Union and the CARICOM region to provide participants with a better understanding of how competition law and policy works in practice.
In welcoming the participants to the Workshop, Justice Amrika Tiwary- Reddy, Chair of the TTFTC stated that ‘the Workshop was a continuation of efforts by the Commission to help create a competition culture in Trinidad and Tobago and both the private and public sector need to have a better understanding of the aims and objectives of competition law and policy’. Also briefly addressing the participants was Mr Bevan Narinesingh, Executive Director, Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trading Commission who thanked participants for their insightful contributions during the Workshop and for their willingness to have a better understanding of this ‘new and exciting area’.
The Workshop included representatives from both the public and private sectors such as the Regulated Industries Commission; the Securities Exchange Commission; the Tobago House of Assembly, the Ministry of the Attorney General the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Central Statistical Office, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries.
For further information please contact:
The Corporate Communications Unit
Ministry of Trade and Industry
868-625-9947