Paris and Washington, D.C. June 27, 2018 – The global business community has applauded the launch of a new Multilateral Framework on Procedures in Competition Law Investigation and Enforcement (MFP), as announced recently by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a joint statement, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and its American national committee, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), welcomed the announcement, saying they hoped the initiative would lead to fairer and more efficient antitrust procedures.
“As the world’s largest and most representative business organization, ICC welcomes the U.S. Department of Justice’s new Multilateral Framework on Procedures in Competition Law Investigation and Enforcement,” said ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton. “Business relies on and thrives in a global economy based on multilateral rules and shared principles. We encourage competition authorities to further engage with the private sector to ensure that investigations are conducted in a consistent and transparent manner worldwide.”
“The spread of antitrust regimes globally over the past 20 years has underscored the importance of due process as a cornerstone of sound competition enforcement,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “Multilateral forums such as the OECD and the International Competition Network have done, and continue to do, tremendous work towards normative convergence in this area. USCIB applauds this complementary MFP initiative, which goes beyond soft-convergence to employ a practical mechanism that will promote compliance by competition authorities with a dozen fundamental procedural fairness principles.”
On June 1, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim, announced the MFP as a tool to “promote greater procedural norms and due process in antitrust, or competition, enforcement.” Delrahim said the United States, “in partnership with leading antitrust agencies around the world, will introduce and invite the global antitrust enforcement community to help finalize and join” the framework.
“USCIB members support this fresh initiative and its open multilateral nature,” Robinson said. “Procedural fairness improves outcomes for agencies and stakeholders alike. The MFP is therefore great news for global antitrust enforcement and our members stand ready to assist it in whatever way they can.”
About ICC:
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the world’s largest business organisation with a network of over 6 million members in more than 100 countries. We work to promote international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation through a unique mix of advocacy and standard setting activities—together with market-leading dispute resolution services. Our members include many of the world’s largest companies, SMEs, business associations and local chambers of commerce.
More at www.iccwbo.org
About USCIB:
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million people worldwide. As the U.S. affiliate of several leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.
Contacts:
Stephen Lloyd, ICC
stephen.lloyd@iccwbo.org, +33 1 49 53 28 49
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
jhuneke@uscib.org, +1 212.703.5043
