Chamber Calls EU Antitrust Decision "A Wake-Up Call"

Ruling Underscores the Need for Cooperation among World's Antitrust Regulators

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today called for greater cooperation amongst U.S. and EU antitrust regulators to avoid divergent enforcement in resolving antitrust cases.

"The Chamber is concerned that the U.S. and the EU have not worked cooperatively enough in addressing their respective antitrust concerns despite having comity agreements in place," said Stan Anderson, Chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Regulatory Cooperation Project. "There is a troubling pattern of non-cooperation on significant antitrust cases. First, antitrust regulators on each side of the Atlantic disagreed on merger review in the GE-Honeywell case; today's court decision underscores a substantial disagreement on dominance and appropriate remedies with the Microsoft case."

Divergence in enforcement of antitrust laws and in the remedies to such violations is a significant and growing problem to the global economy, according to the Chamber. Today there are roughly 100 antitrust authorities worldwide, and China has recently passed new legislation signaling its emergence as the latest antitrust jurisdiction of significance.

This year the Chamber launched its Global Regulatory Cooperation (GRC) Project that was established to address regulatory activity that distorts markets and impacts trade. A key concern of the project is the growing divergence in antitrust laws, enforcement, and remedies given the global nature of today's markets and the explosion of antitrust regulators around the globe. Antitrust laws are designed to safeguard a competitive marketplace for the benefit of consumers. The GRC Project aims to promote transparent, predictable, consistent regulations across jurisdictions, while fighting against antitrust laws that are used to promote industrial policy.

"When the two most experienced and leading antitrust authorities in the world aren't on the same page, it opens up other jurisdictions to independent interpretations to what constitutes a competitive marketplace," Anderson added. "There is a lot at stake for companies when the organizing principle of competition differs across the marketplace."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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