Market Trends 2020: FTC Commissioner Statements in Merger Enforcement Actions

Summary

This article provides market trends in Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner statements in merger enforcement actions in 2020. Commissioner statements—that is, public statements by a commissioner issued along with an enforcement action—are useful sources of information to infer how the out-of-power party's commissioners view merger control differently and may act differently when they regain power. During a presidential transition, and the longer transition to new leadership of the FTC, commissioner statements serve as a useful indicator of how the agency might change enforcement patterns in a new administration. Commissioner statements also highlight issues that are important to each party, especially when those issues would not otherwise be highlighted in the complaint or other public documents. Commissioner statements also can serve the same useful purpose that written decisions serve in litigations: they provide insight into how enforcers come to their votes.