US & EU Competition Policy Is Aligning: WSJ

The European Union’s top antitrust regulator foresees greater alignment with the US on competition enforcement, particularly in the tech sector, amid a broader policy reorientation under the Biden administration, reported The Wall Street Journal. 

EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition commissioner, said she expects “much more intense work when it comes to technology and the digitized market” between her team and Washington.

President Biden’s policy statements and appointments, plus legislative proposals from Congress, indicate the US is moving closer to positions long held in the EU regarding internet giants, pharmaceutical firms and other industries with diminishing competition.

As the world’s two most powerful antitrust regulators, the US and the EU can shape global competition discourse and rein in many of the world’s largest companies, so greater cooperation could have significant impact.

For supporters of aggressive enforcement, “it will certainly be a marriage made in heaven,” said Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a Washington-based antitrust lawyer with Arnall Golden Gregory LLP. “I think they’ll work hand in hand. Increased coordination makes enforcement stronger.”

That alignment will make it even more incumbent on companies in the crosshairs to develop broad, cross-Atlantic strategies on how to respond to that scrutiny, Mr. Jacobovitz said.

While tech companies say similar policies in multiple jurisdictions can simplify operations, some worry about the U.S. adopting some of Europe’s more aggressive positions.

“The U.S. should be wary of copying EU-style experimental regulation,” said Christian Borggreen, vice president and head of the Brussels office at the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represents companies including Amazon, Facebook and Google. “As a leader in tech innovation, the U.S. would have much more to lose if they get it wrong.”

Mr. Biden’s appointments of high-profile U.S. progressives who have criticized tech giants—Lina Khan to run the Federal Trade Commission, and Tim Wu to the White House Economic Council—have been widely seen as indicating that Mr. Biden plans to turn up the heat on internet conglomerates. 

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.