News

CCC and Commonwealth Secretariat launch online consumer protection course

CARICOM Competition Commission and Commonwealth launch a new course for Consumer Protection Authorities in the Caribbean

Today the CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) launches its online consumer protection course for consumer protection officials in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

This activity forms part of the CCC’s 2023 Work Programme supporting the development of the region’s consumer protection framework, which is a core enabler to achieving a fully integrated regional economy and single market.

The CCC partnered with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Connectivity Agenda Section, which provided funding to facilitate the course’s development. The course aims to support the development of the region’s consumer protection framework which is a core enabler to achieving a fully integrated regional economy.

The course is primarily facilitated by Dr. Iris Benöhr, who is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Law at Queen Mary University of London and the Deputy Director of the Institute for Competition and Consumers (ICC), with contributions from national consumer protection authorities within the region and the CCC.

To view the full press release, click here.

CCC and Guyana Bar Association to host Competition law and Consumer Protection Webinar

The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) and the Guyana Bar Association are hosting a webinar on Competition law and Consumer protection on 25 April 2023 at 3:00PM Guyana time. 

Speakers:

Mr. Marc Jones, Senior Legal Counsel, CCC

Ms. Tyra Bakker, Legal Officer, Guyana Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission

Mr. Shane Nicholls, Research Officer, Barbados Fair Trading Commission

To join the event please click here

To view the official flyer for the event, click here

The agenda for the webinar can be assessed here.

CCC to discuss competition and consumer law on the panel of the ICC Inaugural Conference

The Institute for Competition and Consumers (ICC), Queen Mary University of London, will hold an inaugural conference on “The Limits of Consumer Empowerment in times of crisis: how to empower consumers while protecting the vulnerable?", on 21 April 2023 - 15h-17h UK time.

The event aims to reflect on the role and limits of competition law in empowering consumers as well as protecting vulnerable consumers in times of fast changing market dynamics. Equally, it will question the role of consumer law in empowering and protecting consumers and examine potential synergies between the two frameworks.

Speakers

Inge Bernaerts, Director for Strategy and Policy - DG Competition, European Commission, EU

Jason Freeman, Director, Consumer Law, Director, Consumer Law · Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), UK

Teresa Moreira, Head of the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN

Nievia Ramsundar, Executive Director, CARICOM Competition Commission, Caribbean Community

Agustin Reyna, Director of Legal and Economic Affairs, The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC)

 

Chairs:

Iris Benöhr, Deputy Director for Consumers, ICC, QMUL

Maria Ioannidou, Deputy Director for Competition, ICC, QMUL

 

Introduction:

Eyad Dabbah, ICC, QMUL

 

Please find below the link to the event and the Eventbrite page:  


http://www.icc.qmul.ac.uk/events/items/the-limits-of-consumer-empowerment-in-times-of-crisis-how-to-empower-consumers-while-protecting-the-vulnerable.html

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-institute-for-competition-and-consumers-icc-qmul-tickets-596876251937

CCC and CXC sign MOU to educate the youth in competition and consumer law

24 February 2023

Press Release

CCC and CXC® collaborate in competition and consumer protection education.

On Monday, 13 February 2023, Dr Wayne Wesley, Registrar and CEO, CXC® joined Mr. Justice Christopher Blackman, Chairman of the CARICOM Competition Commission in a moment of solidarity to mark the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) and the CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC).

The MOU, officially signed on 12 December 2022 by CCC and CXC® will support future cooperation in the development of a strong competition and consumer culture within the Caribbean Community Single Market and Economy (CSME).

To read the full press release click here

 

Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trading Commission Request for Proposals for Consultancy Services

REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS

The Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trading Commission invites suitably qualified offers to submit complete proposals for conducting a Competitiveness Market Study to assist in strengthening the Competition Framework in Trinidad and Tobago. For more information on the request for proposals click here.

CCC to participate in Collaborative Workshop between Commonwealth Secretariat and CTU

The Executive Director of the CARICOM Competition Commission, Ms. Nievia Ransumdar, is an invited speaker at the three-day training workshop hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union on developing legal frameworks to support the digital economy within the Caribbean region. The workshop will be held in Barbados from 13-15 February 2023. For more information on the workshop, please click on the flyer here

 

Report on Consumer Protection in the Air Transportation Industry in the CSME

This Report represents the first phase of a study on the regional airline industry and focuses on the consumer side of the regional air transportation market. Its specific aim is to provide insight into the issue of airline refunds for flights cancelled by airlines operating within the CSME during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the issue of refunds for involuntary cancellations of flights might have existed before the pandemic, it became more relevant given the finances of many persons in the region who were affected by cancelled flights. To view the full Report, click here.

CCC publishes first State of Competition Enforcement in the CSME Report

The Report on the State of Competition Enforcement in the CSME (2019-2021) aims to increase the regional public’s understanding of how competition enforcement is developing within the CSME. In doing so, the Report presents accessible statistics relating to the competition enforcement and advocacy activities of the competition authorities in the region. The expectation is that the report will also provide both the Commission and the CSME Member States with information to better target their respective resources towards improving competition at the national and regional levels.  To view the full Report, click here.

Commodity Price Report (2019-2021)

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARICOM Competition Commission established and chaired a Steering Committee to address concerns in the region that deceptive business practices such as price gouging and anticompetitive business conduct would distort markets for goods and services.  One of functions of the Steering Committee was to monitor commodity prices across the region in an effort to identify and prohibit such practices. This Commodity Price Report presents some of the food price data collected by the Committee during this pandemic. To view the full Report, click here.

CCC partners with UNCTAD for Global Policy Dialogue

18 NOVEMBER 2021

GLOBAL POLICY DIALOGUE

The CARICOM Competition Commission will partner with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to host the Global Policy Dialogue on post-COVID resurgence of MSMEs and Competition Policy. The virtual event will take place from 1-3 December, 2021. To register for the event click https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lDgPcqT8T26W6cmHiO9vIQ

The full agenda for the 3-day event can also be accessed here, while the official flyer can be found here.