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Chile: Criticism of new Competition Law continues

By  |  May 19, 2015

Chile’s Free Competition Tribunal has expressed renewed criticism of the proposed reforms to the country’s Competition Defence Law, currently being discussed by Chile’s congress.

In statements by Tribunal president Tomas Menchaca, the court criticised the proposed renewal of jail time for those found guilty of collusion. The court considered the current wording to be “general, incomplete and open-ended”, which risks increasing the costs of regulation by duplicating accusations and hampering cartel-busting efforts.

Judge Menchaca further criticised the extremely harsh fines proposed for companies that violate the new competition laws, pointing out that such fines could have unintended effects on the market by “endangering the survival prospects of the firm, eventually leading to a negative result for competition… the very thing they’re supposed to protect.”

Full content: Diario Financiero

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