On July 4, 2019, the FCA issued an opinion on the functioning of competition for the importation and distribution of consumer products in French overseas territories—one of the FCA’s “priorities” for 2019.[1] The opinion assesses progresses made since the FCA issued its first opinion on French overseas territories, and extends its assessment to online restrictions.
The FCA considers that the ban on import exclusivity imposed by the Lurel Law in 2017 had positive structural effects on competition, although significant price differences with mainland France remain. The FCA makes twenty recommendations, including in relation to the online business, the goal of which is to lower prices of consumer goods overseas.
[1] See press release on FCA’s priorities for 2019 released on January 11, 2019, available at: http://www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr/user/standard.php?id_ rub=697&id_article=3329&lang=en. Over the past ten years, 10% of the FCA’s litigation decisions where adopted in overseas territories; moreover, the FCA reviewed 41 mergers and issued 12 opinions on the overseas territories. In addition, the FCA recently carried out down raids in several companies in the inter-island air transport and retail sectors.