ICN Workshop discusses unilateral conducts in Brazil

On 12 March, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) and the International Competition Network (ICN) welcomed 33 countries for the opening of the 11th ICN Unilateral Conduct Workshop, in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

The ICN workshop is one of the most relevant events in the international competition defence agenda. The aim is to gather regulatory agencies from several countries and specialists to discuss a range of issues on unilateral conducts in digital markets, competition law and enforcement, along with the challenges of unilateral conduct analysis and emerging markets, analysis of conditional rebates, self-preferencing, exclusionary abuses, among others. 

In his opening speech, Mr Gustavo Augusto, commissioner of CADE, highlighted Brazil’s prominent role in international debates on competition defence, having already hosted other relevant events. He also reinforced the importance of international cooperation and the Brazilian antitrust authority’s performance in this matter. “CADE strongly supports the cooperation with other jurisdictions and emphasises that international efforts should be guided by a standardisation of techniques, practices, and investigative proceedings among the authorities. This strategic alignment aims to speed the enforcement, reducing time, costs, and resources needed for the investigations, whilst increasing effectiveness”, he stated. 

According to Alexandre Barreto, Superintendent-General at CADE, “The international cooperation is crucial to CADE’s activities and events like this workshop, where we promote debates on unilateral conducts, are an excellent opportunity to put this collaboration into practice.” 

Mr Alexandre Cordeiro, president of CADE, mentioned that the workshop was organised to promote cooperation among members of the ICN unilateral conduct working group, to exchange experiences and work tools, and strengthen the connection among the participants. 

Debates 

The first debate was on digital markets: “Navigating the future of digital markets: policymaking and competition law in an AI-driven economy”. CADE’s commissioner, Victor Fernandes, and the representatives of Canada and Portugal antitrust authorities, Max Liu and Gonçalo Anastácio, respectively. 

In the afternoon, the Chief Economist at CADE, Lílian Marques, participated in the panel on the challenges of the analysis of unilateral conducts and highlighted the importance of the work of antitrust authorities in these examinations. 

“The challenges we discussed, including market definition in the digital economy, analysis of market power or navigating evidence patters, highlight the progress of antitrust enforcement. As we progress, I hope that the discussions held today can become a basis for continuous collaboration and knowledge sharing among antitrust authorities worldwide”, she stated.

Other participants in the panel were a representative of the antitrust authority of New Zealand, Ritchie Hutton, an economist of the Portuguese antitrust authority, Hugo Brito, and the executive director of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Sharon Clancy.

During the first day of the event, debates on exploitative abuses, exclusive Dealing, and self-preferencing also took place. In addition, over the next days, topics such as remedies and sanctions in unilateral conduct, data as a competitive parameter, and digital economy regulation will also be addressed. 

The 11th ICN Unilateral Conduct Workshop takes place from 12 to 14 March and some debate sessions will be streamed on CADE’s  YouTube channel.

Access the event website to learn more.