CADE’s representatives take part in Ecuador's competition law events

On 27 September, representatives of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) attended the Ibero-American Forum in Quito, Ecuador. The event was held by Ecuador’s competition authority, in partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), and the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC). It also held the Annual Meeting of the Group of Competition Agencies of America (GrACA).

The event had two panels. The first one had the Senior Deputy of CNMC, Marisa Tierno, as a moderator. They discussed the challenges of preventing unilateral conduct. During the panel, the assistant superintendent of CADE, Diogo Thomson, and the representatives of Peru, Mexico, and Costa Rica shared their perspectives on the topic. Diogo explained CADE's experience on interim measures for digital platform exclusivity agreements, such as the iFood and Gympass cases, as well as in the beer industry.

The second panel featured Commissioner Gustavo Augusto and competition authority representatives from Mexico and Chile. The meeting had Miguel Moura e Silva, a council member of AdC, as a moderator. They discussed the previous consummation of merger transactions, known as "gun jumping". Gustavo Augusto presented an overview of the institute, as well as CADE's procedures for imposition of fines in such cases.

Marisa Tierno closed the forum by emphasising the need for international cooperation in competition law in the face of economic globalisation. She also highlighted the growing status of the forum as a benchmark in the international antitrust agenda, underscoring the significance of the topics discussed.

Soon after that, there was the Annual Meeting of the Group of Competition Agencies of America (GrACA). The event gathered competition authority representatives to share experiences, review procedures, and establish goals.

The opening ceremony was conducted by Danilo Sylva, superintendent of Ecuador’s competition authority, Paulo Burnier, OECD's Senior Competition Expert and former commissioner of CADE, and Letícia Vega, CEO of the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE).

The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the 2023 Activity Report from the President of CADE, Alexandre Cordeiro. In his speech, he mentioned the main accomplishments and challenges of the competition authority throughout the year, especially regarding cooperation between civil servants of CADE in workshops.

Forum

The Ibero-American Forum is held every year, promoting discussions on competition law, establishing agendas, and identifying trends. The debates promoted in the event, as mentioned in the opening session, had a significant impact on the behaviour of companies and law firms. Thus, it is fundamental that the competition authorities work together, considering the incentives they offer to this public, and aiming to achieve favourable results for competitiveness.