International Competition Network Adopts Merger Review Recommendations, Says FTC

The International Competition Network adopted four new recommended practices on the types of transactions subject to merger review, plus merger notification thresholds, remedies and efficiencies, said the FTC in a Friday news release. ICN, a global network of 135 member agencies from 122 jurisdictions that strives to build consensus on sound competition policy principles, also adopted a framework for analyzing unilateral conduct, guiding principles for market studies and a report on establishing cartel fines, the agency said. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen and acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the DOJ's Antitrust Division led the U.S. delegation at ICN's annual conference in Portugal. “The world’s competition agencies demonstrate a shared commitment to strive toward convergence on sound competition analysis and fair process in antitrust investigations,” said Ohlhausen. The release said DOJ co-chairs the Unilateral Conduct Working Group, which completed a two-year project on issues faced by agencies when creating unilateral conduct enforcement policies, namely "what is dominance and what makes conduct exclusionary." The Agency Effectiveness Working Group produced a report on competition agencies' social media usage, strategies and lessons learned and another on staff training, said the FTC. It said the Advocacy Working Group produced a Market Studies Guiding Principles, "a compilation of effective practices for agencies to consider when undertaking studies to understand the state of competition in specific sectors."