This document compiles the laws on free competition in force in the Western Hemisphere countries, in accordance with the methodology and information agreed on and supplied by the Free Trade Area of the Americas Working Group on Competition Policy at the first meeting held in Lima, Peru, May 16 and 17, 1996.
Competition policy deals with a variety of areas and aspects of a market economy system.
However, narrowly defined by the Working Group, it refers to the set of laws and regulations aimed at ensuring that national markets function correctly. This inventory gathers the main provisions concerning to competition policy in the trade and integration arrangements of the Western Hemisphere, according to the mandate of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Working Group on Competition Policy. The document contains publicly available information, which was submitted by the competition agencies of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, United States and Venezuela and edited according to the methodology previously agreed by the Working Group. This document aims at contributing to a better understanding of the development and enforcement of competition policy in the Hemisphere. The criteria, cases and activities reported do not necessarily represent the official position of the governments of the countries included in this document.