Argentina: Senate moves forward on Defense of Competition

The joint commission of Rights, Guarantees and Justice of Argentina’s Upper House dealt this week with the draft Law on the Defense of Competition, which already has earned the approval of the Lower House. During deliberations, congress members heard testimonies from Secretary of Commerce Miguel Braun; the president of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition, Esteban Greco, as well as representatives of industrial and commercial chambers, legislators and NGOs.

Miguel Braun stressed that “to have a dynamic economy that grows and reduces poverty in a sustained manner, it is necessary to create competitive and transparent markets. And since markets do not always go in that direction, the State must have the capacity to act. ”

The minister also warned of the weakness of Argentine legislation in this matter, emphasizing the lack of independence or political power of the enforcement authority, in that the sanctions are low and do not discourage monopolistic practices and the authority does not have all the tools needed.

The project seeks to make a transparent market, with clear rules, in which consumers have more and better options and favoring the development of effective companies. It also contemplates a merger control regime. The project will focus on the deterrence of cartels and monopolies, independence, transparency, efficiency and predictability. The new law provides for the creation of the National Competition Authority as an independent body and proposes to raise the limits on sanctions available to the regulator.
Full Content: El Economista

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