TT Chamber supports TT Fair Trade Commission

The TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce “fully supports” the implementation of the Fair Trading Act and its regulatory body, the TT Fair Trading Commission (TT FTC). The commission was officially activated on February 13 and, the chamber noted, has been a work in progress since the 1990s while the legislation was passed in Parliament in 2006. It was partially proclaimed in 2014 to allow for the formation of the FTC, but its recent full proclamation means that the FTC is now empowered to act.

“We would like to recognise the work done by the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Attorney General and all the stakeholders who have worked to get the legislation fully proclaimed this year. The fair trading commission has a strong team who can ensure they carry out their functions effectively,” chamber CEO Gabriel Faria said in a statement.

Globally there are over 130 markets that have documented fair trading agencies. This provides both international and local investors the comfort when considering investments that there will be a framework to ensure the enforcement of competition policy, the chamber said.

The act focuses on a number of areas including the abuse of monopoly power; anti-competitive mergers and agreements; and enforcement of the relevant provisions.

The FTC held a sensitisation session today at the Ministry of Trade office in Nicholas Tower, Port of Spain, which Faria described as “extremely enlightening.”

“We look forward to working with the TT FTC to ensure there is a fair and competitive business landscape in Trinidad and Tobago.”