The Argentinean Government, by means of Decree No. 810/2025 published today in the Official Gazette (the “Decree”), established the National Competition Authority (the “NCA”), the enforcement authority created by Law No. 27,442 (the “Antitrust Law”), and appointed its members. The NCA is composed of the Defense of Competition Tribunal (Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia, “TDC”), and the Anticompetitive Conducts and Economic Concentrations Secretariats.
The new President of the TDC is Eduardo Montamat and the new Commissioners of the TDC are Lucas Trevisani and Marcelo D’Amore. The new Anticompetitive Conducts Secretariat is Ana Parente and the new Economic Concentrations Secretariat is Germán Zamorano.
Eduardo Montamat has previously been Chief Counsel (1998-1999), Commissioner (1999-2003 and 2024-2025), and President (since March 2025) of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia, “CNDC”). Montamat also has a PhD degree obtained in 2023 at the University of Córdoba with a thesis on antitrust issues, which was recently published as a book.
Lucas Trevisani is a lawyer who has a master’s degree in Finance from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and has worked at the CNDC since 2016, holding the position of Commissioner of the CNDC since 2023.
Marcelo D’Amore is a lawyer who has a master’s degree in Banking Disciplines from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and a master’s degree in Government Economics from the Universidad de San Andrés. He is a Government Economist and has extensive experience at the CNDC.
Ana Parente is a lawyer and specializes in State law with a focus on legal defense. She has been Director of Legal Studies at the CNDC since 2024 and a member of the Leniency Unit since June 2024.
Germán Zamorano has a degree in economics and a master’s degree in Finance from the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. He has been Director of Competition Advocacy at the CNDC since April 2024 and a member of the Leniency Unit since June 2024.
The Argentine Government appointed them on a temporary basis for the time it takes to obtain the approval of the National Senate, a requirement established by the Antitrust Law to acquire stability in office.
Thus, the NCA began to exercise its functions as the enforcement authority of the Antitrust Law as of today, and the CNDC has ceased to exist after 45 years.
Likewise, with the establishment of the NCA, the transitory clause of the Antitrust Law was activated, which establishes that the ex ante merger control regime will come into force one year after the NCA begins operating. Therefore, once the ex ante merger control system becomes effective, any economic concentration exceeding the thresholds set forth in the Antitrust Law must obtain prior authorization from the NCA to be consummated.
Consequently, the ex ante merger control system will become effective in November 2026.
