February 2023
Frontpage
Competition Advocacy
Concentrations
Legal Framework
Recommended reading
FRONTPAGE
Rodrigo Alcázar Silva and Giovanni Tapia Lezama, new commissioners of Cofece
Rodrigo Alcázar Silva and Giovanni Tapia Lezama, new commissioners of Cofece
Rodrigo Alcázar Silva and Giovanni Tapia Lezama took office as commissioners of the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece or Commission), after being ratified by the Senate of the Republic in terms of Article 28 of the Mexican Constitution. With this, the Board of Commissioners of Cofece is completed after occupying its seven positions.
Commissioner Rodrigo Alcázar Silva was appointed from February 2 2023 and until the last day of February 2028, he holds a degree in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and a master’s degree in Economics, Regulation and Competition in Public Services and Telecommunications from Universitat de Barcelona in Spain. He has an extensive experience at Cofece where, until today, he served as Executive Director of Economic Studies in the General Directorate of Economic Studies, and previously, as Director of Market Investigations and Prospective Analysis in the General Directorate of Relative Monopolistic Practices as well as Deputy Director of Investigation of Relative Monopolistic Practices; he was also Director in the office of a Commissioner of the Federal Institute of Telecommunications, and Competition Manager of Izzi Telecomunicaciones. Furthermore, he is a professor at Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.
Commissioner Giovanni Tapia Lezama, appointed for nine years, holds a degree in Economics from Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, and until the day of his appointment, he was a senior associate at SAI Derecho y Economía; at Cofece he was Deputy Director General at the office of a Commissioner and Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Economic Studies. He was economic advisor at the General Directorate of Pemex Exploración y Producción, researcher at the Center for Public Finance Studies at the Chamber of Deputies and economic analyst at the General Directorate of Economic Studies at the Bank of Mexico.
COMPETITION ADVOCACY
Cofece holds the webinar What does Mexico gain when there is competition?
The Commission held its first webinar of the year in February, its objective was to present the publication What does Mexico gain when there is competition?, which compiles eight assessments of interventions by Cofece and its predecessor, the Federal Competition Commission, in various markets that were analyzed through ex post assessments by academics and competition experts with the purpose to know about the impact of our actions on markets and consumers' pockets.
Panelists in the webinar included Alejandro Castañeda Sabido, professor researcher at the Center for Economic Studies of El Colegio de México and former commissioner of Cofece; Rodrigo Morales Elcoro, professor and director of the Master in Business Law at Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey, former commissioner of the CFC, as well as Commissioner Ana María Reséndiz Mora from Cofece.
The event was moderated by Grisel Ayllón Aragón, associate academic dean of the School of Social Sciences and Government of Tecnológico de Monterrey, and included the participation of Karen Aguilar Zamora, director general of Planning and Evaluation of Cofece, as master of ceremonies.
The Commission held its first webinar of the year in February, its objective was to present the publication What does Mexico gain when there is competition?, which compiles eight assessments of interventions by Cofece and its predecessor, the Federal Competition Commission, in various markets that were analyzed through ex post assessments by academics and competition experts with the purpose to know about the impact of our actions on markets and consumers' pockets.
Panelists in the webinar included Alejandro Castañeda Sabido, professor researcher at the Center for Economic Studies of El Colegio de México and former commissioner of Cofece; Rodrigo Morales Elcoro, professor and director of the Master in Business Law at Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey, former commissioner of the CFC, as well as Commissioner Ana María Reséndiz Mora from Cofece.
The event was moderated by Grisel Ayllón Aragón, associate academic dean of the School of Social Sciences and Government of Tecnológico de Monterrey, and included the participation of Karen Aguilar Zamora, director general of Planning and Evaluation of Cofece, as master of ceremonies.
Cofece and the American Bar Association analyze trends and challenges of immunity programs and private actions
With the aim of sharing experiences and knowledge, Cofece and the American Bar Association (ABA) held a meeting to analyze trends and challenges of immunity programs and private law actions.
The event provided first-hand knowledge of some of the work carried out by experts from the United States of America, as well as the private sector's perspective on the possible impacts and challenges for the effective enforcement of private law actions in competition matters, and their interaction with immunity programs.
This meeting contributes to the strengthening of the institutional capacities of Cofece, which allows it to provide greater legal certainty to economic agents, thereby strengthening competition policy in our country.
With the aim of sharing experiences and knowledge, Cofece and the American Bar Association (ABA) held a meeting to analyze trends and challenges of immunity programs and private law actions.
The event provided first-hand knowledge of some of the work carried out by experts from the United States of America, as well as the private sector's perspective on the possible impacts and challenges for the effective enforcement of private law actions in competition matters, and their interaction with immunity programs.
This meeting contributes to the strengthening of the institutional capacities of Cofece, which allows it to provide greater legal certainty to economic agents, thereby strengthening competition policy in our country.
CONCENTRATIONS
Cofece imposes a fine of 61.5 million Mexican pesos on two economic agents for failing to process all the steps of the concentration notification procedure
Cofece sanctioned HP, Inc. (HP) and Plantronics, Inc. (POLY) for a total of 61 million 580 thousand 800 Mexican pesos for having closed a concentration before the Board of Commissioners had issued the corresponding resolution and, therefore, for having failed to comply with what is established in Articles 86, 87, 88, 90 and 127 Section VIII, of the Federal Economic Competition Law (LFCE, per its initials in Spanish).
On August 29, 2022, the sanctioned agents consummated an operation consisting in the indirect acquisition by HP of the total shares and absolute control of POLY. Said operation concluded before obtaining the Commission's authorization, which prevented Cofece from analyzing, in a timely and preventive manner, the risk to competition and free market access that the concentration could generate. Consequently, the verification procedure was initiated under file number VCN-001-2023.
Once the procedure was concluded, the Board of Commissioners of Cofece determined that the operation did not involve risks to the process of competition and free market access, therefore the concentration was authorized. Nonetheless, the omission by HP and POLY was classified as highly serious because it hindered the exercise of Cofece's attributions, for which the corresponding sanctions were imposed.
Cofece sanctioned HP, Inc. (HP) and Plantronics, Inc. (POLY) for a total of 61 million 580 thousand 800 Mexican pesos for having closed a concentration before the Board of Commissioners had issued the corresponding resolution and, therefore, for having failed to comply with what is established in Articles 86, 87, 88, 90 and 127 Section VIII, of the Federal Economic Competition Law (LFCE, per its initials in Spanish).
On August 29, 2022, the sanctioned agents consummated an operation consisting in the indirect acquisition by HP of the total shares and absolute control of POLY. Said operation concluded before obtaining the Commission's authorization, which prevented Cofece from analyzing, in a timely and preventive manner, the risk to competition and free market access that the concentration could generate. Consequently, the verification procedure was initiated under file number VCN-001-2023.
Once the procedure was concluded, the Board of Commissioners of Cofece determined that the operation did not involve risks to the process of competition and free market access, therefore the concentration was authorized. Nonetheless, the omission by HP and POLY was classified as highly serious because it hindered the exercise of Cofece's attributions, for which the corresponding sanctions were imposed.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Cofece issues the Guidelines for the use of electronic means during the investigation, the sequel to the procedure, the verification and incidents processed before the Commission
Cofece issued the "Guidelines for the use of electronic means during the investigation, the sequel to the procedure, the verification and the incidents processed before the Federal Economic Competition Commission" (Guidelines in Spanish).This regulatory instrument will enter into force from the date on which the Board of the Commission determines that the conditions that motivated the issuance of the Regulatory Provisions of the Federal Antitrust Law on the use of electronic means in certain procedures processed before the Federal Economic Competition Commission have ceased to exist.
These guidelines, published in the Federal Official Gazette and available on the website of the Commission, regulate the submission of documents, the conduction of notifications and the handling of proceedings through electronic means, will be mandatory to those who make use of the electronic means referred to by the Regulatory Provisions on the Use of Electronic Means before the Federal Economic Competition Commission.
This allows Cofece to take advantage of technological tools to carry out, to the extent possible, its procedures electronically, which benefits users by reducing times and making processing more efficient. This positions the Commission as an institution at the forefront in the adoption of technology among competition authorities around the world.
Cofece issued the "Guidelines for the use of electronic means during the investigation, the sequel to the procedure, the verification and the incidents processed before the Federal Economic Competition Commission" (Guidelines in Spanish).This regulatory instrument will enter into force from the date on which the Board of the Commission determines that the conditions that motivated the issuance of the Regulatory Provisions of the Federal Antitrust Law on the use of electronic means in certain procedures processed before the Federal Economic Competition Commission have ceased to exist.
These guidelines, published in the Federal Official Gazette and available on the website of the Commission, regulate the submission of documents, the conduction of notifications and the handling of proceedings through electronic means, will be mandatory to those who make use of the electronic means referred to by the Regulatory Provisions on the Use of Electronic Means before the Federal Economic Competition Commission.
This allows Cofece to take advantage of technological tools to carry out, to the extent possible, its procedures electronically, which benefits users by reducing times and making processing more efficient. This positions the Commission as an institution at the forefront in the adoption of technology among competition authorities around the world.
RECOMMENDED READING
2022 Relevant Actions
In line with its transparency and accountability policies, Cofece annually publishes the most significant actions it carries out in favor of competition and free market access. Those actions that had the greatest impact on the different sectors considered a priority are highlighted due to their relevance in terms of consumer welfare and the country's economic performance.
Actions referred to in this document show Cofece's commitment to Mexico and to consumers, by implementing actions aimed at fulfilling its constitutional mandate to guarantee competition and free market access, as well as to prevent, investigate and fight monopolies, monopolistic practices, unlawful concentrations and other restrictions to the efficient functioning of markets, as well as to eliminate barriers to competition and regulate access to essential facilities in the terms established by the Constitution and applicable regulations.
BY THE NUMBERS
BY THE NUMBERS
In January, the Commission handled 107 matters, of which 59 correspond to concentrations, 29 to procedures for monopolistic practices and unlawful concentrations, 6 to special procedures and 13 to opinions on tenders, concessions or permits.
Complaints, investigations, and trial-like procedures
- 1 complaint for anticompetitive conducts was received, which was added to the 2 pending from the prior period. From these, 2 were deemed as not presented, therefore, at the end of the period, 1 complaint remains under analysis.
- Follow-up was made on 20 investigations for monopolistic practices, and 5 trial-like procedures for monopolistic practices.
- Follow-up was made to 1 investigation to determine whether there are effective competition conditions in the maritime transport of passengers and roll-on/roll-off cargo in Baja California Sur.
Concentrations
- 59 concentrations were reviewed, of which 10 in the previous period. From these, 12 were authorized, therefore, at the end of the period, 47 concentrations remain under analysis.1
- The amount of the authorized operations is of $47,023.7 million Mexican pesos.
Juicios de amparo
- During February, the Judicial Power resolved 6 amparo trials: 3 were granted and 3 were dismissed.2 At the end of the period, 474 amparos were still in process, of which 395 correspond to economic competition matters.
Cofece determined the existence of barriers to competition in the relevant markets of the value chain of jet fuel
