INEOS AMERICAS LLC v. THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY

Amicus brief filed in the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, at the invitation of the Court concerning issues presented by an appeal in an ethylene oxide supply contract dispute between INEOS Americas LLC and The Dow Chemical Company. The brief discusses important public interests in promoting competition and consumer welfare that the Commission sought to advance in the merger proceedings stemming from The Dow Chemical Company’s 2001 acquisition of Union Carbide Company. Dow’s divestiture of its ethanolamines business to INEOS was part of the merger remedy required by the Commission in that case, and ethylene oxide is a key feedstock for that business. While taking no position on the ultimate disposition of the contract law issues before the Court, including that of specific performance, the Commission addresses the merger enforcement context in which the supply contract under dispute arose. The Commission states that, to the extent the Court deems public interest considerations pertinent to the issues before it, those interests would be served by a contract remedy that will ensure that INEOS has access to supplies of ethylene oxide that will promote its ability to remain an active and dynamic competitor.