FTC Chairman Kicks Off International Competition Workshop

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today kicked off an International Competition Network workshop to discuss the implementation of the ICN’s recommended practices for merger notification and review. These standards are designed to make the process for reviewing mergers more effective and efficient for both the merging parties and the sometimes multiple agencies reviewing the merger. Participating in the two-day workshop in Washington, DC, hosted by the FTC and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, are nearly 100 delegates from 35 jurisdictions.

“The ICN permits us to address practical enforcement and policy issues of common concern, in an effort to facilitate procedural and substantive convergence in antitrust enforcement,” said Chairman Majoras in her welcoming remarks to the group. “We are gratified that our sister agencies around the world share in the desire to improve merger review practice and procedures through the implementation of the Guiding Principles and Recommended Practices.”

The ICN’s Guiding Principles provide a framework that antitrust agencies around the world can use to develop or revise their merger processes. They outline eight precepts on which to base the merger review process: sovereignty; transparency; non-discrimination on the basis of nationality; procedural fairness; efficient, timely, and effective review; coordination; convergence; and the protection of confidential information. The 13 Recommended Practices supplement and further define these Principles. Both standards were developed by a subgroup of the ICN, led by the FTC, and have been unanimously adopted by ICN members.

The ICN is made up of 97 antitrust agencies from 85 countries, and is supported by non-governmental experts from around the world.

The FTC’s Bureau of Competition, in conjunction with the Bureau of Economics, seeks to prevent business practices that restrain competition. The Bureau carries out its mission by investigating alleged law violations and, when appropriate, recommending that the Commission take formal enforcement action. To notify the Bureau concerning particular business practices, call or write the Office of Policy and Coordination, Room 394, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., Washington, DC 20580, Electronic Mail: antitrust@ftc.gov; Telephone (202) 326-3300. For more information on the laws that the Bureau enforces, the Commission has published “Promoting Competition, Protecting Consumers: A Plain English Guide to Antitrust Laws,” which can be accessed at http://www.ftc.gov/bc/compguide/index.htm.