Events Calendar

FTC Presents at ICN Annual Conference 2023

The FTC’s General Manager, Ms. Ann-Marie Grant, participated in the annual ICN Conference, held in Barcelona, Spain, on October 18 to 20.  Ms. Grant made presentations in two sessions.  Firstly, in the session on measuring the effectiveness of competition authorities’ activities, Ms. Grant gave an overview of the JFTC’s involvement in competition advocacy and discussed the type of interventions for ex-ante assessments: “spontaneous” vs agency-planned.  She described strategies for undertaking those assessments: human resources mobilization, data collection, stakeholder engagement, prioritization; and ended with a discussion on Data-on-Demand strategies.  That is, anticipating market studies, building relationships, and signing MOUs with organizations that collect data on key sectors.

This session was of benefit to the FTC’s work with respect to the impact assessment of proposed and implemented recommendations by the FTC to promote competition in the market studied.

In her presentation on the implementation of ICN Work Product, she described the FTC’s experience in using the Market Studies Handbook and Recommended Practices for Merger Analyses and the Recommended Practices for Merger Notification and Review Procedures.  For each Work Product, she zoomed in on the FTC’s stakeholder engagement strategy and the creation of an appropriate pre-merger notification framework for Jamaica.

FTC Presentation AEWG BOS2 – October 19, 2023

CARICOM Competition Commission and Commonwealth Conference on Enforcement Practices and Emerging Trends in Consumer Protection

The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) is pleased to announce a closing conference to its Online Consumer Protection Course for consumer protection officials and competition officials in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), to be held virtually on 15^th June 2023, at 11am ECT or 4pm UK.

CCC press release

FTC Statement on Strike by Transport Operators

The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) is monitoring reports regarding the ongoing coordinated action by transport operators to withdraw their services on November 14-15, 2022.

The Fair Competition Act (FCA) prohibits coordinated action by competitors. Specifically, section 18 of the FCA prohibits persons who compete with each other from agreeing to prevent, restrict or limit the supply of goods or services to any person or class of persons. This action harms commuters. The FTC advises transport operators against continuing this action.

The FTC is investigating the matter. Breaches of the FCA attract a fine of up to 5 million dollars for each offense.

FTC STATEMENT ON THE STRIKE BY TRANSPORT OPERATORS

T&T FTC Study Visit

The Jamaica Fair Trading Commission (FTC) continues to facilitate competition law and policy development within the CARICOM region through information sharing and discussions on best practices. From July 18 to 20, 2022, the FTC hosted the Trinidad & Tobago Fair Trading Commission’s Senior Legal Counsel Ms Kristle Maharaj, in a study visit. As a result, Ms Maharaj was exposed to several internal work processes related to the FTC’s core functions. Among the areas described were investigation procedures (case screening, case selection criteria, etc.), complaints handling (evidence gathering, file management), conducting market studies (study proposals, data collection, stakeholder consultation), competition advocacy & public education, and general operations (human resource requirements, case management, project management).

FTC Presentation to Caribbean Governance Week

Mr. David Miller, Executive Director, participated in Governance Week 2022, hosted by the Caribbean Governance Institute from June 27 to July 1, 2022.  The theme was “Developing the conscience of the board”.  Mr. Miller participated on Day 2 – Governance of the Private Sector, where he was a member of the panel that discussed “Engaging in Fair Trade”.  The other members of that panel were Mr. Bevan Narinesingh, Executive Director of the Fair Trading Commission in Trinidad and Tobago, and Mr. Troy Waterman, Director of the Fair Competition Division of the Barbados Fair Trading Commission.  Ms. Carmel Haynes, Executive Director of the Barbados International Business Association served as the moderator for the panel.

Click to view Mr. Miller’s speaking notes.

https://jftc.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FTC-presentation-to-Caribbean-Governance-Week.pdf

ICN Presentations – Frenemies

“Mr. David Miller, Executive Director, participated in two sessions at the 2022 Annual Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN), held May 4-6, 2022, in Berlin, Germany.

In the Breakout Session entitled “Frenemies – when a regulator’s objectives conflict with those of a competition agency”, Mr. Miller highlighted the FTC’s experience in interacting and collaborating with sector regulators. Mr. Miller’s speaking notes may be accessed here.”

ICN Presentations – Frenemies

Implementation in the ICN Presentation

Mr. David Miller, Executive Director, participated in two sessions at the 2022 Annual Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN), which was held May 4-6, 2022 in Berlin, Germany.

In the Plenary Session on the “Implementation in the ICN”, Mr. Miller highlighted the FTC’s use of the ICN Merger Guidelines Workbook, in influencing the FTC Merger Guidelines, which were issued in February 2022.  Mr. Miller’s speaking notes may be accessed here.

Implementation in the ICN Presentation

Speaking Notes for February 24th 2022 Press Briefing

The Fair Trading Commission participated in the CAC/FTC Press Briefing on February 24, 2022, at which Mr. David Miller, Executive Director spoke about the FTC’s recent work and the way forward.  Mr. Miller’s presentation is attached.

Speaking Notes for February 24th 2022 Press Briefing

19th Annual Shirley Playfair Lecture

The FTC hosted the 19^th Annual Shirley Playfair Lecture on December 8, 2021 under the theme “Integrating Competition Law and Consumer Protection Law: Optimizing Consumer Welfare.” Mr. Stephen Calkins, Professor of Law from the Wayne State University, delivered the Lecture where he highlighted the usefulness of a single authority enforcing competition law and consumer protection law and also described issues, concerns and challenges from institutional, legal, operational, marketing, and staffing perspectives.

18th Annual Shirley Playfair Lecture

The FTC hosted the 18th Annual Shirley Playfair Lecture in November 2020 under the theme “Protecting Competitive Markets and Consumer Welfare during and Post COVID-19 Pandemic.” By way of a panel discussion, the lecture highlighted the range of measures implemented by competition authorities in response to the perceived threat posed by the pandemic. It also addressed the relevance of competition law to the protection of consumer welfare.