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Peru: Competition watchdog “powerless” to prevent price-fixing, says President

By  |  November 7, 2016

Peru’s president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski spoke out last week, saying that INDECOPI, the country’s market and Intellectual Property regulator, lacked the necessary powers to guarantee there won’t be a repeat of the large-scale price-fixing cartels, such as the one that plagued the retail drugstore sector between 2008 and 2009.

Furthermore, he added, the regulatory agency lacks the minimum powers and regulatory framework required by the OECD in matters of Mergers & Acquisitions or in Antitrust law.

Kuczynski added that the best course for a small domestic market such as Peru, of roughly $250 billion USD, was to support open markets. However, he added that the OECD’s requirements would be followed in order to gain access to the club of mostly developed countries.

“Legally, Indecopi has several powers, but not the ones that the OECD would demand, and it is our hope to join them within two or three years.”

Full Content: RPP

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