Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Canada Competition Bureau official discusses international collaboration, (Sep 12, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

In a merger and enforcement policy panel at Georgetown Law’s annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium on September 10, Lisa Campbell, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Competition for the Canada Competition Bureau, discussed Canada’s collaboration on merger reviews with the United States; the Competition Bureau’s efforts to increase international collaboration; the Bureau’s relationships with emerging economies; and competition in the innovation-based sectors of the economy.

“Improving the effectiveness of competition law enforcement through enhanced collaboration with international partners is a priority for the Bureau and this applies to all aspects of the Bureau’s work, including merger review,” Campbell stated in her prepared remarks. She further noted that this is especially true for both Canada and the United States, where both countries are the other’s largest trading partner. “In fact, the trading relationship between our two countries is so strong that it represents an exchange of approximately $1.4 million in goods and services every minute,” she said.

In discussing merger reviews in Canada and the United States, Campbell attested to the strong and effective cooperation and coordination between the two countries, resulting from their long-standing bilateral agreement. She further acknowledged the jointly-issued “Best Practices on Cooperation in Merger Investigations,” which documented the day-to-day cooperation practices among the Bureau, the FTC, and the U.S. Department of Justice, and provided guidance for legal and business communities on how to work with the three agencies to improve coordination of merger reviews.

Campbell also addressed the Bureau’s involvement in international efforts to facilitate greater collaboration and the sharing of best practices. She specifically applauded the Bureau’s recent appointment as co-chair of the International Competition Network’s Merger Working Group, which works to promote cooperation and convergence, improve the quality of merger review, increase transparency, and support member agencies in avoiding needless burdens on agencies and businesses. “It is our belief that through sharing best practices and other forms of collaboration, we enrich each other’s agencies and facilitate more effective and efficient merger reviews on a global scale,” Campbell said. “We will continue to seek out opportunities to work with agencies and with new and existing international counterparts.”

In the spirit of working with international counterparts, the Senior Deputy Commissioner described the Bureau’s relationship with emerging economies, such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Korea) group of nations. Specifically, she noted the Bureau’s work with developing relationships with counterparts in China and India, to facilitate future communication and collaboration between the agencies. “The broad goal of our efforts in all developing nations is to support efficient and effective competition enforcement across the globe,” Campbell said.

In her final point, Campbell noted the need to ensure that competition policy and enforcement provides the private sector with a framework that allows it to operate, innovate, and grow. “The Bureau feels that it is important to advance the thinking on this critical issue by understanding what drives innovation and how it should best be assessed by competition agencies,” Campbell stated. “In order to facilitate this, we’ll be hosting a workshop that will serve as a forum to discuss the role of innovation in antitrust on November 4th in Ottawa.”

News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust