Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer testified before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law on the agencies' recent competition enforcement activities.
On May 15, 2015, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer testified on behalf of the FTC and DOJ before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law. The officials discussed the agencies' competition enforcement activities and research and advocacy initiatives.
FTC Enforcement Activity
Chairwoman Ramirez noted that in fiscal year (FY) 2014, premerger filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) act increased by 25% over HSR filings in FY 2013. The FTC focused their enforcement efforts on key markets, such as:
Consumer products and services, including by challenging mergers between:
supermarkets;
class ring vendors;
funeral and cemetery service providers; and
foodservice distribution service providers.
Manufacturing and technology.
Energy.
Chairwoman Ramirez also outlined the FTC's research and advocacy efforts, highlighting its two 6(b) studies of:
Patent assertion entities, which is in its final stages.
Merger remedies, designed to gauge the effectiveness of FTC-ordered divestitures.
Chairwoman Ramirez also noted that the FTC hosts workshops on emerging business practices and technologies to stay abreast of current antitrust issues.
DOJ Enforcement Activity
Assistant Attorney General Baer focused his remarks on DOJ enforcement activity relating to:
Cartels.
Civil enforcement.
Advocacy and interagency collaboration.
Cartels
The DOJ obtained nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines in FY 2014, the highest amount ever obtained in a single fiscal year. The DOJ filed 62 cases in FY 2014 against 44 executives and 18 companies. The average prison sentence from 2010 to 2014 was nearly 25 months, up from 20 months from 2000 to 2009 and eight months in the 1990s. The DOJ also secured its first ever extradition on an antitrust charge for an Italian national extradited from Germany for his alleged participation in a marine hose cartel.
The DOJ continued its domestic and international cartel enforcement, including the:
Baer lauded the DOJ's cooperation with the FTC, particularly on workshops focusing on current antitrust issues. Baer also noted the DOJ's strong partnerships with state attorneys general and foreign competition authorities to promote competition domestically and abroad.
The DOJ is also working to provide antitrust guidance and assistance to the business community, including by:
Working with the FTC on a joint policy statement on information sharing about cyber threats.