Fair Trade Commission chosen as "Team of the Year" for 2005

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on February 27, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission was selected as the best "Team of the Year" for 2005 by Global Competition Review, a leading law-related publication published by London-based Law Business Research Ltd.

The Fair Trade Commission won the title after it successfully handled a cement cartel case in Taiwan in 2005. The commission issued an order to fine NT$5 to 18 million (US$147,000 to 529,000) on 21 cement enterprises for their anti-competition practices. It is one of the highest administrative fines ever issued by the commission since its establishment in 1992.

The Fair Trade Commission spent four years investigating the case. Representatives from more than 500 enterprises and manufacturers were interviewed, in areas such as construction, cement manufacture and sales, civil engineering and cement imports. The commission found that Mexico-based Cemex group cooperated with some of Taiwan's domestic cement importers to enter the market in Taiwan in 2000. Together, they managed to lower the volume of imported cement and the production cost, while putting up the price of cement in order to maximize the profits of all participating companies.

The Fair Trade Commission found that such anti-competitive practices and agreements were not acceptable. The harmful effects of these practices and agreements on consumers are particularly serious in the cement sector, because they are passed on to the construction and housing sector and to the real estate market in general.