Heads of competition agencies from East Asian countries, including the ASEAN countries, are meeting in Sydney today for the two-day 2018 East Asia Top Level Officials’ Meeting on Competition Policy (EATOP) and the East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy (EAC).
Hosted in Australia for the first time, EATOP brings together heads of competition agencies to discuss competition law developments within the region and to strengthen relationships between competition law agencies.
Attending from the ACCC will include senior staff and Commissioners, including ACCC Chair Rod Sims.
"It is a great privilege to welcome my competition law agency counterparts from across East Asia to Australia for this important meeting," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
"Through EATOP, the ACCC and our fellow competition agencies from across the region have the chance to learn and assist each other for the common goal of protecting and supporting fair and open competition."
"Anti-competitive behaviour by multinational businesses often stretches across jurisdictions to the detriment of markets across the region. Therefore it is vital that competition law enforcement agencies maintain strong relationships to protect fair and efficient markets globally," Mr Sims said.
The ACCC also welcomes the chance to host stakeholders from the competition law community at the EAC which follows the conclusion of EATOP.
"We are grateful to those in the legal community, academics and stakeholders who are coming to the EAC to share their knowledge and perspectives on the development and implementation of competition law in the region," Mr Sims said.
This year’s EATOP is being hosted by the ACCC in conjunction with the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI).
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EATOP is an annual event sponsored by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). It is hosted in a different country each year and the ACCC was asked by the JFTC to host it in 2018.
EATOP is only open to representatives of East Asian competition law agencies and competition related authorities, aiming to facilitate a candid exchange of views and information.
The East Asian Conference (EAC) is a half to full day conference that follows EATOP. EAC is open to those involved in competition law more broadly, including academics and those from the legal community.
