The Government of Jamaica issued the Fair Competition Act (FCA) in 1993 to ensure that the benefits of the competition process are unhindered by monopolies or any other anti-competitive activity, considering Section 59 (2) of the Political Constitution, which authorizes the executive power to make, confirm, approve orders, rules, regulations or other subordinate legislation with the approval of the Senate.

The objectives of the FCA are to:
a) Encourage competition in the conduct of trade and business in Jamaica;
b) Ensure that all legitimate business enterprises have an equal opportunity to participate in the Jamaican economy; and c) Provide consumers with better products and services, a wide range of choices at the best possible prices.

To achieve these objectives, the FCA contains two broad categories of prohibitions - those dealing with anti-competitive behavior and those dealing with consumer protection. With regard to anti-competitive behavior, the FCA prohibits agreements that substantially lessen competition and the abuse of a dominant position. Specific anti-competitive practices that are prohibited under the Act are resale price maintenance, tied selling, price fixing, collusion and cartels and bid rigging.

The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) is the administrative body responsible for implementing the Fair Competition Act (FCA). The FTC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. The functions of the FTC include the following:

a) To carry out, on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister or any other person, investigations in relation to the conduct of business in Jamaica in connection with matters falling within the provisions of the FCA;

b) To advise the Minister on matters relating to the operation of the FCA;

c) To make available to businesses and consumers, general information with respect to their rights and obligations under the FCA; 

d) To undertake studies and publicize reports and information regarding matters affecting the interests of consumers; and 

e) To co-operate with and assist any association in developing and promoting the observance of standards of conduct for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the FCA.

The FTC has the power to carry out investigations in relation to the conduct of business in Jamaica to determine if any enterprise is engaging in practices that are in contravention of the FCA. Such investigations may be self-initiated by the FTC or be carried out following a complaint. All investigations are carried out by the staff of the FTC.

The Staff of the Fair Trading Commission is headed by the Executive Director and supported by three Department Heads, namely, General Manager, Senior Legal Counsel & Competition Bureau Chief. The Commission's Organization Chart is the following:

Source: Jamaica's Federal Trade Commission Web Page

The Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission, a portfolio agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) is Jamaica's the administrative body responsible to deal with related risks of unfair competition from dumped or subsidized imports. Its core mandate is investigating unfair practices in international trade and the determining remedies on behalf of the domestic industry, within the framework of the World Trade Organization rules.

Part of the work of the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission follows The Safeguard Act, passed in 2001, which allows the application of measures (like duties or quotas) to defend domestic industries from some detrimental effects of increases in imports. A safeguard differs from the other remedies (anti-dumping and countervail) in that it may be applied in certain circumstances where there is no unfair trade in order to give an affected domestic industry a period in which to adjust and become competitive. Collectively, the redress available to businesses through the legal framework of agreements and acts administered by the Commission is referred to as Trade Remedies, and has been the core mandate of the Commission.

The Commission also educates the business community and the public, on the current and evolving trade remedy regime and facilitates the ongoing development of legislation, international trade policy, and negotiating positions touching its mandate.

The core mandate of the Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission is to foster equitable and fair competition in the domestic Jamaican market; allow time for businesses to increase competitiveness, both in the domestic market and abroad; sustain viability of Jamaican industries and maintain jobs.

The Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission will assist CARICOM to foster the regional development of international trade expertise and a regional trade remedies body, reducing costs to the local and regional governments and local businesses.

The Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission is made up of a Board of five Commissioners, whose role is to investigate and use trade remedy rules under the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act 1999 and the Safeguards Act 2001, to defend local producers from unfairly priced (dumped or subsidized) imports or by surges in the volume of goods imported into Jamaica.

The strategies and mechanisms adopted by the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) can be found in the in the Fair Competition Act (FCA), and can be summarized as follows:

1. Seeking of information. The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) can obtain the information it considers necessary to assist it in its investigation and it is empowered to summon and examine witnesses, call for and examine documents, administer oaths, require that any document submitted to its office be verified by affidavit, and adjourn any investigation from time to time. Hearings shall take place in public, but the FTC can conduct a hearing in private.

The FTC may require an authorized officer to enter and search any premises and inspect and remove, for the purpose of making copies, any documents or extracts under the control of any person (Sections 6, 7, 8 and 10 of the Fair Competition Act (FCA)).

2. Reporting. Within three months after the end of each financial year, the FTC presents a report to the Prime Minister containing its principal activities during the preceding financial year (Section 14 of the Fair Competition Act (FCA)).

3. Observing uncompetitive practices and acting against abuses. The FTC examines those practices that lessen competition or that become an abuse regarding dominant positions in the market such as price fixing, conspiracy, bid-rigging, misleading advertising, double ticketing and selling above advertised prices, among others.

Where the FTC finds that an enterprise has abused or is abusing a dominant position and that such abuse has had or is having an effect of lessening competition substantially in a market, the FTC notifies the enterprise of its finding and directs the enterprise to take steps to overcome the effects of abuse in the market concerned (Sections 17-21 and 34-41 of the Fair Competition Act (FCA)).

4. Applying sanctions. Any person who impedes the investigations, refuses to supply information, gives false or misleading information and/or destroys or alters, directly or indirectly, any document, record or thing required by the FTC, is guilty of an offence and liable to conviction in a Circuit Court to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.

If any person fails to attend and give evidence to the FTC, or refuses to take an oath or to answer any question is also guilty of an offence and liable on conviction before a Resident Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both. The Supreme Court may order the offending person to pay to the Crown penalties up to one million dollars in the case of individuals, and five million dollars in the case of persons other than individuals (Sections 42-47 of the Fair Competition Act (FCA)).

Any person who is aggrieved by a finding of the FTC may within fifteen (15) days after the date of the finding, appeal to a Judge in Chambers. The Judge in Chambers may confirm, modify or reserve the findings of the FTC or any part thereof and direct the FTC to reconsider the matter (or part of it). The Judge must advise the FTC of his reasons for doing so. If an appeal is brought against the FTC, the orders of the FTC based on such findings remain in force - pending the determination of the appeal - unless the Judge otherwise orders (Sections 49-50 of the Fair Competition Act (FCA)).

The FTC may prohibit the publication or communication of any information which served as evidence for its operations. Any person who publishes any such information which is prohibited by the FTC is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate to a fine up to one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment up to two years or both (Section 53 of the Fair Competition Act (FCA)).