WILLEMSTAD – The Parliament of Curaçao are being urged to hold a substantive debate on the functioning of the Fair Trade Authority Curaçao (FTAC), following an evaluation showing that seven years of competition oversight have produced little demonstrable benefit for competition or consumers.
The findings were highlighted this week in the Chronicle Caribbean Law published in the Nederlands Juristenblad. The evaluation report, submitted to Parliament in September 2025 together with FTAC’s annual report, concludes that while the authority has carried out investigations since the Competition Ordinance came into force, it has not imposed a single fine for proven cartel behavior or abuse of a dominant market position.
According to the report, sanctions have only been issued for failure to cooperate with investigations, not for substantive violations of competition law. As a result, the oversight has had hardly any visible impact on consumer interests, such as lower prices or improved market dynamics.
Limited impact and structural challenges
The evaluation notes that FTAC focused mainly on cases with limited societal impact, while sectors that directly affect household budgets and the cost of living received less attention. Structural challenges are also cited, including limited financial resources and difficulties in attracting and retaining specialized staff.
One of the key recommendations is to expand FTAC’s mandate to include consumer protection. Combining competition oversight with consumer protection could strengthen enforcement, increase public visibility, and improve outcomes for consumers. Aruba already operates an authority with this combined mandate, while Curaçao does not.
Next steps for Parliament
With the evaluation now public, Parliament is expected to discuss with the Minister of Economic Development what the findings mean for the future of competition oversight on the island. The debate is likely to address not only FTAC’s effectiveness to date, but also whether its current structure and scope are suitable for Curaçao’s economic scale and realities.
Despite the report being on the parliamentary agenda since September, no concrete follow-up action has yet been taken. The evaluation suggests that without adjustments to mandate, resources, or priorities, competition oversight risks remaining largely symbolic rather than delivering tangible benefits for consumers and the economy.