WILLEMSTAD – The Fair Trade Authority Curaçao (FTAC) has launched a public awareness campaign urging businesses to remain vigilant against suppliers that may be abusing a dominant position in the market.
According to the competition watchdog, entrepreneurs should be free to choose their suppliers based on price, quality and service. Restricting that freedom can undermine competition and ultimately harm consumers through higher prices and fewer choices.
The FTAC highlighted several practices that may constitute abuse of a dominant position under Curaçao's National Ordinance on Competition. These include forcing customers to purchase products exclusively from a single supplier, requiring buyers to purchase products in bundled packages, or applying different prices and conditions to similar customers without objective justification. The authority also warned against predatory pricing, where a company temporarily lowers prices to levels intended to drive competitors out of the market.
Curaçao's competition law has been in force since 2017, making the island one of the first jurisdictions in the Dutch Caribbean to establish a dedicated competition authority. The FTAC was created to prevent anti-competitive practices, prohibit cartels and combat the abuse of dominant market positions.
The authority emphasized that healthy competition is particularly important at a time when businesses and consumers continue to face high living costs. According to the FTAC, effective competition encourages lower prices, better service and greater innovation, benefiting the broader economy.
Businesses that believe they are being subjected to anti-competitive practices can file a complaint with the FTAC, which has the power to investigate and, where violations are found, impose binding instructions, penalty payments and substantial fines.