Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division Launch Public Inquiry Aimed at Modernizing Merger Guidelines

Summary

On January 18, 2022, Chair Lina Khan of the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division ("DOJ"), launched a joint public inquiry aimed at modernizing both the horizontal and vertical merger guidelines. As part of this effort, the agencies are soliciting comments from the public, including "market participants, government entities, economists, attorneys, academics, unions, employees, farmers, workers, businesses, franchisees and consumers . . . ." Press Release, Dep't of Justice & Fed. Trade Comm'n, Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Seek to Strengthen Enforcement Against Illegal Mergers (Jan. 18, 2022), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-federal-trade-commission-seek-strengthen-enforcement-against-illegal strengthen-enforcement-against-illegal. The comment period is open for 60 days, requiring all comments to be received no later than March 21, 2022. It will ...