FTC inks competition law pack with Paraguay’s National Competition Commission

　On November 15, 2024, the Fair Trade Commission of Taiwan (the “FTC”) and the National Competition Commission of the Republic of Paraguay signed a cooperative agreement on competition laws in Taipei.  This makes the Republic of Paraguay the eleventh country inking a competition agreement with Taiwan, following Australia, New Zealand, France, Mongolia, Canada, Hungary, Panama, Eswatini, Japan, and Indonesia.  This agreement consists of ten articles covering the issues about bilateral technical cooperation, notification, information requests, information protection, and consultations, etc.. 

　According to the FTC chair, LEE May, the enforcement of competition laws must adopt an international perspective to cope with the current global economic landscape.  The FTC signs agreements with the competition authorities of these countries in order to contribute to the effective enforcement of the competition laws through cooperative relations regarding the application of competition laws.  For the competent authorities of competition laws, reinforcement of the exchanges and cooperation for law enforcement is the best approach to dealing with all kinds of challenges posed by globalization and digital economy.  

　The FTC further stressed that the execution of the competition law agreement at this moment not only reaffirms the two countries’ shared belief in building up a free, fair, and open market that crucially matters to consumer rights protection and the promotion of economic stability and prosperity, but also represents the enhanced communication and cooperation between the two countries.  This aligns with the ICN’s (the International Competition Network) mission to facilitate the intensified communication and collaboration among the worldwide competition authorities to address the current challenges in law enforcement, which achieves multiple goals at the same time.  (Released 2024.11.15)    
/CCS