The planned Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consumer protection commission will be launched in 2016, a source familiar with the situation told  Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily. The GCC has moved to set up a commission to protect consumers after markets in the six-member council saw a proliferation of imported counterfeit goods and a growing number of sector monopolies.The GCC’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs, Abdullah Al-Shibli, said the commission will “bring together points of view on public policy about consumer protection in the GCC countries,” facilitate the exchange of information and the conduct of research studies on consumer markets, and provide a channel of communication for GCC member-states to discuss policies to combat counterfeiting and unfair trading practices.