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Publications Topics Archive Topics Archive 2007 Vol.37- No.12 Advertorial
Publications Topics Archive Topics Archive 2007 Vol.37- No.12 Advertorial | Advertorial |
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A message from Chairman Tang Jinn-chuan, Fair Trade Commission, Executive Yuan The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) of the Executive Yuan, with functions similar to those of the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, was established on January 27, 1992 in accordance with the Fair Trade Law. It is charged with the important mission of formulating competition policy and enforcing the Fair Trade Law. The agency is headed by a chairman and consists of nine commissioners, all of them with expertise in the fields of law and economics. The term of office is three years. In the Commission, no single party may be represented by more than half of the commissioners, and all commissioners must refrain from engaging in any political activities during their terms. Ever since its establishment, the FTC has vigorously carried out its duties in line with the administrative principles of "earnestly administering the law, supporting economic development, serving the public interests, and keeping abreast of international trends." To the general public, the best-known function of the FTC is to safeguard consumers' interests. In one recent case involving concerted action for price-fixing, for example, three leading dairies - Uni-President, Kuang Chuan Dairy Co., and Wei Chuan Corp. - received combined penalties of NT$11.5 million after they all raised the price of milk at the same time in August. Regarding simultaneous increases in gasoline prices by the CPC Corp., Taiwan and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. on many occasions, the FTC declared that would continue to observe their conduct in order to determine whether a cartel exists. Amendments to the law In order to strengthen its effectiveness in preventing attempts to impede fair competition, the Fair Trade Law has been revised three times - in February 1999, April 2000, and February 2002. The FTC has also adopted or amended more than 60 guidelines specifying the procedures for handling various types of cases. These changes have brought the Fair Trade Law in line with the needs of today's society and economy, and have enhanced the fairness and transparency of the FTC's enforcement work. Since those involved in concerted actions have become more and more adept at concealing their behavior, the challenges encountered by law enforcement and evidence-gathering in this area have become much greater. As a result, the FTC has sought to learn from the enforcement experiences of other countries, including the use of a "leniency program" that offers reduced fines or prison sentences (or absolution from the crime altogether) to participants in concerted actions who voluntarily provide evidence of illegal acts. The FTC is now working on incorporating this form of incentive for cooperation into a proposed new amendment to the Fair Trade Law. According to reports from other countries, use of a leniency program has proved to be most effective in cracking large anti-trust cases. It serves both to reduce the cost of investigation and to deter illegal concerted actions in the first place. Another focus of the new amendment would be to grant search and seizure powers to the FTC to enable it to crack down more effectively on large-scale, technological, or secret anti-competitive conduct. International experience has shown the importance of the enforcement agency possessing the authority for search and seizure when handling anti-trust and concerted-action cases. In most Western countries the competition authorities have had such rights for a long time, and Taiwan needs to similarly prepare itself to deal with the growing prevalence of "smart" crime. IPR protection The protection of Intellectual Property Rights, particularly well-known international trademarks and patents, has always been a main focus of the FTC's enforcement efforts. We aim to protect IPR and ensure fair competition through the implementation and enforcement of the Fair Trade Law, as well as through close cooperation with the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In line with the principle that "education takes precedence over punishment," the FTC has been utilizing a diverse range of communication channels to convey accurate information to the public about IPR matters. Over the past years we have held numerous seminars and workshops on both the theoretical and practical aspects of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, as well as protection of trade dress under the Fair Trade Law, so as to help enterprises understand and abide by the law. The objective is to nurture a win-win-win situation for government, business, and consumers. To resolve IPR-related competition issues, the Commission has promulgated clear guidelines to help avert IPR abuse by enterprises. Specific guidelines have been designed to prevent patent-holders from issuing warning letters before due process has been completed, to inhibit the inclusion of unfair conditions in technology licensing agreements, and to counter the "free-rider" problem in which businessmen take advantage of internationally renowned trademarks and brand names by using "look-alike" trademarks and brand names on their own products. In all cases, the FTC ensures that investigations are carried out fairly in accordance with the evidence, regardless of the nationality of the rights-holders or producers. International cooperation The FTC has done its part from day one to facilitate closer international cooperation on competition issues. We have actively attended international conferences held by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). After many years of efforts, Taiwan has become an observer on the OECD Competition Committee and a member of the International Competition Network (ICN). In view of the trend of economic globalization, it is becoming more and more common to see cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as well as anti-competitive conduct. The FTC has therefore increasingly engaged in bilateral meetings with its counterparts among competition authorities in other countries. For example, it has signed a bilateral agreement on competition law with France, a trilateral agreement with Australia and New Zealand, and a cooperation memorandum with Mongolia. In addition, the Commission has held bilateral talks with its counterpart agencies in the United States, the European Union, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Indonesia to seek mutual cooperation in the fight against international anti-competitive conducts. As a means of assisting other Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mongolia in formulating their regulations to foster competition, the FTC has offered internships, conducted training courses, and provided reference materials on competition law and competition issues. Since 1999, the FTC has been one of the co-organizers, in cooperation with the OECD, of the International Competition Policy Seminar for the Southeast Asia region. The seminar seeks to help the Southeast Asian nations establish a competition law framework to foster economic prosperity and development in the region. Serve the people The core of the Fair Trade Law is to maintain order in the market formed by the trading behavior between consumers and enterprises. It is therefore a top priority to ensure that businesses, government officers, and the public fully understand and comply with the law. Besides conducting numerous kinds of seminars to explain fair-trade principles and practices, the FTC has also established a service center to provide the public with inquiry and consultation services regarding any information and materials related to the Fair Trade Law. Future Prospect Facing the arrival of the new economy, in the coming three years (2007-2009) the Commission aims to achieve the following goals as part of its effort to create a new competition order in Taiwan: * Integrate current competition laws and regulations to help foster a new culture of free and fair competition. * Adjust the business behavior of key industries to establish a new market environment of fair competition. * Promote greater transparency of consumer information and foster a new principle of fair trade. * Build an international platform for cooperation in competition policy, and create a new image for Taiwan's competition regulations. We hope the realization of these goals can establish a more competition-friendly business environment in Taiwan so as to help boost Taiwan's economic development and contribute to a prosperous future. Taiwan FTC Service Center Tel: 886-2-23517588 ext 380 or 23517567 Competition Policy Information & Research Center Tel: 886-2-23970339 or 23278129 Southern Region Service Center Tel: 886-7-213-5265 |
