National and international specialists agreed that the Preliminary Draft Organic Law on Antitrust and Economic Competition represents a decisive step to strengthen the functioning of markets in the Dominican Republic, generating more transparent conditions for competition, greater security for investment, and direct benefits for consumers. During a technical dialogue entitled “Clear Rules for Competing: Dialogue on the Reform of the Competition Law in the Dominican Republic,” experts analyzed the main advances introduced by the legislative proposal recently presented to the Executive Branch with the aim of modernizing Law No. 42-08 General of Defense of Competition. Participants agreed that updating the legal framework will enable more dynamic and competitive markets, which translates into a greater supply of goods and services, better prices for consumers, and a more conducive environment for innovation and business growth. Among the most relevant innovations of the preliminary draft are new tools to investigate and sanction anticompetitive practices, as well as the incorporation of a prior control regime for mergers and acquisitions, a mechanism that will allow for the early evaluation of business operations that may affect competition in the markets. The discussion featured the participation of María Elena Vásquez Taveras, president of the Board of Directors of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (ProCompetencia); Alejandro Ibarra, expert in Competition Law from the Competition Law Center of George Washington University; and Antonella Salgueiro, expert and international consultant in trade and competition. During his intervention, Vásquez Taveras explained that the update of the legal framework responds to the profound transformations that Dominican markets have experienced since the approval of the current law. “In recent years, Dominican markets have evolved rapidly. The digital economy has transformed entire sectors, and corporate concentrations are occurring at a speed that the 2008 legislator could not have foreseen,” he noted. The president of ProCompetencia highlighted that the objective of the preliminary draft is to provide the country with modern legislation that guarantees clear rules for competition, promotes investment, and strengthens confidence in the functioning of the markets. Upon pronouncing the opening words, Adam Al Sarraf, representative of the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the United States Department of Commerce, reaffirmed that organization’s willingness to continue collaborating with the Dominican authorities through technical assistance to strengthen the enforcement of competition legislation. For her part, Antonella Salgueiro described the preliminary draft as a “qualitative leap” in the institutional strengthening of the country and highlighted that the proposal incorporates modern tools used in the most advanced legislations, such as surprise inspections, which facilitate the obtaining of evidence in investigations of anti-competitive practices. Likewise, he valued the inclusion of a leniency program, a mechanism widely used in the most developed competition systems that allows the detection of collusive agreements from within organizations. “The preliminary draft comprehensively strengthens the capacity of the competition authority to detect, investigate, and sanction anticompetitive conduct, aligning the Dominican Republic with international best practices,” he explained. Alejandro Ibarra especially highlighted the incorporation of prior concentration control, noting that this mechanism will allow for the preservation of competitive conditions in the markets before negative effects occur for consumers and companies. “Concentration control is a preventive tool that protects the competitive dynamics of markets and contributes to generating greater supply, innovation, and efficiency,” he indicated.
About the discussion
