Peruvian competition authority files formal request to join OECD competition committee

The Peruvian competition authority has submitted a formal request to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Competition Committee, the agency's head, Ivo pi, told MLex.

The request from the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property, or Indecopi, was submitted last month, and will now be analyzed by OECD in a process that could take months, it is understood.

If Peru is approved as an associate member, it will be able to vote in the OECD Competition Committee in addition to its current status as a participant in meetings. The last associate member approved was the Brazilian competition authority last year. As part of Indecopi's bid to join the competition committee, OECD will carry out a "complementary version" of the existing peer review of Peru's antitrust system, Gagliuffi said.

In November 2018, OECD released a peer review with several recommendations to Indecopi involving competition enforcement in the country.

After the peer-review process is held, OECD's Competition Committee will issue a recommendation to OECD's decision-making council on whether to invite Indecopi to become a member of the committee.

Gagliuffi said he expects a decision from OECD on the matter to be issued by December.