The FTC helps countries around the world to develop and enhance their own competition and consumer protection programs. By placing experienced attorneys and economists as resident advisors and conducting short-term training programs, our experts provide on-the-job training and help develop the investigative and analytical skills of the agency staff. We also introduce staff to available tools to improve the agency’s effectiveness in requesting and assessing remedies in the context of the country’s laws, traditions, and economic circumstances. We explain how competition and truthful advertising and marketing advance economic efficiency, consumer welfare, and consumer choice.
Technical Assistance to Developing Competition and Consumer Protection Agencies
- For several decades, FTC lawyers and economists have helped countries with little experience to establish and strengthen framework competition and consumer protection laws or enforcement institutions. This includes training on basic investigative skills and techniques.
- A summary of major accomplishments of the FTC’s technical assistance program in FY2014 is available in the FTC Office of International Affairs FY2014 Technical Assistance Report. (Past reports: FY2013)
- A detailed description of our competition work can be found at U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s And Department of Justice’s Experience With Technical Assistance For The Effective Application of Competition Laws. On competition matters, we frequently work jointly with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.
- A description of our work in the consumer protection and privacy areas can be found at The United States Federal Trade Commission Technical Cooperation Program on Consumer Protection.
- The FTC operates a program that offers fellowships at the FTC for foreign agency employees.
- We also make available certain of our training materials for training your own lawyers and economists. The ICN has competition-related training materials available through its Training on Demand.
Contact Us
If you are associated with a competition or consumer protection agency and need assistance with legislation, training of agency staff, institutional design, or related matters, please contact us.
How We're Funded
Our technical assistance program is, in many instances, funded through cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and in some cases with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Commercial Law Development Program of the Department of Commerce. In some cases, we use our own funds.
Additional Information
- Resources from Workshop on Charting the Future Course of International Technical Assistance (February 2008)
- Joint Report Charting the Future Course of International Technical Assistance At the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice (October 2009).
- Report to OECD on The U.S. Experience in Competition Law Technical Assistance: A Ten Year Perspective (February 2002)
