An Ad-hoc Meeting of BRICS Working Group on Cartels, organized by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, was held on February 3. The meeting focused on discussing the development of global standards for international cooperation in combating cross-border cartels, including terminology, key investigative tools, and formats of law enforcement cooperation. Particular attention was be paid to strengthening practical cooperation among BRICS competition authorities in addressing cross-border anticompetitive practices, including through examples from global agricultural markets.
The event included two sessions: "Work on global standards on international cooperation in combating cross–border cartels" and "Practical cooperation of BRICS competition authorities when combatting cross-border anticompetitive practices and cross-border cartels".
During the ad hoc meeting, the BRICS competition authorities were invited to identify further steps to deepen cooperation and increase its efficiency when dealing with cross-border anticompetitive practices and cartels. The discussion was built on examples of anticompetitive concerns identified in the global agricultural markets arising largely from the behavior of the ABCD+ commodity traders.
Moreover, following the first part of the ad hoc meeting, the BRICS competition authorities considered whether and how global standards of international cooperation in combating cross–border cartels can help address the challenges identified in the global agricultural value chains.