President Fernandez signed into law Bill No. 42-08 on Antitrust and Unlawful Competition. The new law calls for the creation of the Dominican Republic’s first antitrust public regulatory body, The Dominican Antitrust Commission. The Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed on August 5, 2004 required the enactment of the antitrust legislation.
Articles 5 and 6 of the law explicitly prohibit and sanction with fines of up to 3000 times the minimum salary the following now illegal commercial practices:
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Price-fixing |
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Price-gauging |
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Bid Rigging |
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Abusive behaviors by a firm(s) dominating a market, including: |
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Control of total industry output |
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Market share distribution |
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Allocation of customers and/or territories |
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