The Fijian Competition and Consumer Protection Policy Statement was jointly drafted by the FCCC and the (then) Ministry for Industry, Trade and Tourism and came into effect in 2020. The role of government, business, consumers and international markets all feature in the policy framework. About the role of government, the Policy Statement sets out clear criteria for ensuring that government activities do not distort competition, including:
- State-owned enterprises undergoing reform should not take advantage of any change in their status or supervision to engage in conduct that is anti-competitive;
- Unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary, enterprises that are connected with the public sector may not enjoy unique advantages relative to private sector enterprises;
- A level playing field should exist between government business activities and private sector enterprises;
- Government business activities that compete with private business should comply with competitive neutrality principles;
- Government business activities should not enjoy a net competitive advantage in a market simply due to government ownership.
- Price regulators of state-owned enterprises should be independent and make decisions based on transparent criteria.
