The general statutory duty of the AFTA is to oversee compliance with the Competition Ordinance. This mainly involves monitoring and enforcing the statutory rules of play and giving advice to the Government. Currently, only the Competition Ordinance contains duties assigned to the AFT.

The objective of the Competition Ordinance is to prevent undesirable economic impacts of restrictions on competition. The AFTA oversees compliance with the prohibition on cartels, the prohibition to abuse a dominant position and the obligation to notify concentrations. Free and undistorted competition between undertakings for the favor of the consumer leads to lower prices, higher quality, more innovation and more choice. Moreover, more competition often creates additional jobs, a better investment climate and better opportunities for new companies without unnecessary entry barriers. The underlying objective of the Competition Ordinance therefore is to ensure the proper functioning of markets. The result to be achieved is economic growth and increased prosperity for citizens/consumers.

The rules laid down in the Competition Ordinance apply to all undertakings and associations of undertakings that perform economic activities on the Aruban market. This includes national and foreign undertakings. Economic activities may consist of offering goods and/or services on the market by undertakings. It is irrelevant what legal form the undertaking has, how it is financed and whether it has a profit motive. This approach implies that undertakings do not only include ordinary companies, but also, for example, independent professionals, public enterprises and certain foundations.

An undertaking is every entity engaged in an economic activity, regardless of its legal form or how it is financed and regardless of whether it has a profit motive. Therefore, the legal form of the undertaking is not decisive here. In principle, the concept of undertaking encompasses natural persons and legal entities, private and public companies, foundations, service providers and independent professionals.

Read more about those to whom the competition rules apply to in our general brochure on the Competition Ordinance.

An economic activity is defined as any activity consisting of offering goods and services on a given market, regardless of whether there is compensation. The main criterion here is that the activity in question can be performed in competition with other undertakings. The rules laid down in the Competition Ordinance apply to all national and foreign undertakings and associations of undertakings that perform economic activities on the Aruban market.

Read more about those to whom the competition rules apply to in our general brochure on the Competition Ordinance.

When applying the competition rules, it is important to determine the conditions of competition between the different undertakings. This involves identifying which undertakings compete with each other. The method of determining this is by defining the relevant market.

A relevant market consists of a product market and a geographic market. Defining a relevant market is important when calculating market shares, for example, to determine whether your undertaking has a dominant position or to determine whether your merger or acquisition should be notified to the AFTA.

The relevant product market consists of the goods and/or services which the user considers to be substitutable based on product characteristics, price and intended use. . In particular, the responses of customers to price changes of products and/or services are decisive in defining the relevant product market. Different products that meet the same customer demand may be part of the same product market.

The relevant geographic market comprises the area in which the undertaking offers products or services and in which the conditions of competition (such as prices, quality, regulations) are more or less similar. The relevant geographic market may be part of Aruba, all of Aruba or a larger area (for example, the Caribbean, Latin America or the entire world). The purchasing behavior of customers is also relevant here.

In applying the concept of relevant market, the AFTA will take into account the legal and economic context in Aruba.

The legislator has entrusted the AFTA with the task of monitoring compliance with the Competition Ordinance. This includes overseeing the prohibition on cartels, the prohibition of abuse of a dominant position and the obligation to notify certain concentrations to the AFTA. These rules also benefit the consumer, but they are not rules generally regarded as pertaining to “consumer law”.

In the future, the AFTA will also be charged with monitoring compliance with consumer law.