The transition to competitive retail gasoline and diesel markets. COFECE 2017

Published: 2017

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The goal of the present report is to identify a range of obstacles that might affect the transition to competitive gasoline and diesel markets, as well as to present proposals to authorities at a number of government entities for adopting public policies favoring a competitive environment. The obstacles identified here essentially reside in legal stipulations or in the structural characteristics of incipient Mexican gasoline and diesel markets. Mexico’s Federal Commission for Economic Competition (acronym in Spanish: COFECE) is issuing the present document as part of its work promoting the adoption of free-market-entry and competition principles on the part of public authorities in all government branches and departments, in high impact domestic-economy markets and on behalf of consumer wellbeing, in accordance with criteria established in its 2014-2017 Strategic Plan. The recommendations and proposals contained in the present document deal exclusively with
free-market-entry and economic competition and are made without any further consideration of additional public-policy aspects, provided they are not the province of this document’s issuing authority. The above does not limit nor prejudice COFECE’s mandate to apply the Federal Economic Competition Act (acronym in Spanish: LFCE) by means of actions such as: i) investigating and sanctioning monopolistic practices; ii) guarding against market structures that pose risks to competition; and iii) determining the existence of essential facilities or trade barriers.