Approval of concerted action, the application of which was filed by Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association for purchasing soybeans from Paraguay in line with the government policy
Chinese Taipei
Case:
Approval of concerted action, the application of which was filed by Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association for purchasing soybeans from Paraguay in line with the government policy
Key words:
approval of concerted action
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of 24 June 1998 (346th Commission Meeting); Decision (87) Kung Lien Tzu No. 8700012
Industry:
Processed Soybean Food Industry (1194)
Relevant Laws:
Article 14(5) of the Fair Trade Law
Summary:
There are 12 participating enterprises in the subject concerted action, including President, Ta Cheng, Ch'ang Ch'eng, Ta T'ung Yi, Feng Mao, T'ai Hua, Chia Hsin, Hui Sheng, Fu Mao, T'ai Shan, Fu Shou, Te Lung, and Yi Hua. These enterprises are covered under the various groups in the soybean-related concerted actions originally approved by the Fair Trade Commission (this Commission). For the purpose of this special procurement which was in line with the government policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Agriculture, the staff from the government's representative office in Paraguay, and representatives from the industry held conferences on 31 March and 4 May 1998 at the Council of Agriculture and the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association (TVOMA). The government and the TVOMA jointly coordinated the meetings. The application was later filed in the name of TVOMA for this Commission' s approval of the subject concerted action.
This Commission found that the application for the subject concerted action by the 12 companies, all of which were TVOMA members, was beneficial to the economy as a whole in accordance with Article 14(5) of the Fair Trade Law (FTL). Nonetheless, in consideration of administration and preventing any anti-competitive practices among and outside the participating enterprises, the approval was granted with conditions. Content of the approval is as follows: (1) The approval shall be effective for four months from 1 July 1998 through 31 October of the same year (for two shiploads). (2) The participating enterprises shall inform this Commission in writing of the completion of the subject concerted action. (3) The participating enterprises shall not use the approval to engage in any additionted concerted actions, or restrict anyone among themselves from freely deciding the volume of import, or prohibit anyone among themselves from importing on its own, or, without any justifiable cause, refuse other enterprises to join the concerted purchase. Any change in the participating enterprises shall be reported to this Commission. (4) The participating enterprises shall not use this approval to obtain any market dominance, engage in improper pricing or the maintenance or change thereof, or impede other enterprises from having fair competition, or engage in any abusive use of their market position.
Summarized by Hu Chun-hsien
Supervised by Shih Chin-ts'un