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Event Description

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department are co-hosting a workshop to facilitate public dialogue on the 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines the agencies announced in July.

The workshop is aimed at promoting a dynamic discussion about the draft guidelines to complement the comments currently being submitted to the agencies by the public. The goal of the merger guidelines update is to better reflect how the agencies determine a merger’s effect on competition in the modern economy and evaluate proposed mergers under the law.

The virtual workshop will feature two panel discussions with former enforcers, academics, economists, and practitioners regarding questions and issues on which public comment will be most useful.

The workshop will take place from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET and will be livestreamed on the FTC’s website.

The FTC and DOJ continue to encourage comments from the public on the draft guidelines, which may be submitted online through September 18, 2023. The agencies will use the public comments to evaluate and update the draft before finalizing the guidelines

  • Agenda

    Tuesday, September 5

    1:00 pm

    Welcome and Introduction

    Aviv Nevo, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics, and Susan Athey, Chief Economist, DOJ Antitrust Division, provide opening remarks.
    1:15 pm

    Panel 1: Evolving Approaches to Raising Rivals’ Costs and Vertical Mergers from the 2020 VMG to the Draft Merger Guidelines

    Moderator:

    David Lawrence, Policy Director DOJ Antitrust Division

    Panelists:

    • Barry Nigro, Fried Frank, Chair, Global Antitrust and Competition Department
    • Peter Carstensen, Fred W. & Vi Miller Chair in Law Emeritus at University of Wisconsin Law School
    • Charlotte Slaiman, Competition Policy Director, Public Knowledge,
    • Amanda Lewis, Partner, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca
    • Steven Salop, Professor of Economics and Law, Georgetown University Law Center
    2:45 pm

    Panel 2: Evolving Approaches to Mergers Between Rivals from the 2010 HMG to the Draft Merger Guidelines

    Moderator:

    Susan Athey, Chief Economist DOJ Antitrust Division

    Panelists:

    • Nathan Miller, Professor, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and Department of Economics
    • Laura Alexander, Director of Markets and Competition Policy, Washington Center for Equitable Growth
    • Eleanor Fox, Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation Emerita, New York University School of Law
    • Mark Meador, Partner, Kressin Meador LLC
    • Eric Cramer, Chairman, Antitrust Department Co-Chair, Berger Montague
    4:15 pm

    Closing

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Under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) or other laws, we may be required to disclose to outside organizations the information you provide when you pre-register for events that require registration. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments, whether filed in paper or electronic form, and as a matter of discretion, we make every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments before posting them on the FTC website.

The FTC Act and other laws we administer permit the collection of your pre-registration contact information and the comments you file to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. For additional information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see the Commission’s Privacy Act system for public records and comprehensive privacy policy.

This event will be open to the public and may be photographed, videotaped, webcast, or otherwise recorded.  By participating in this event, you are agreeing that your image — and anything you say or submit — may be posted indefinitely at ftc.gov or on one of the Commission's publicly available social media sites.

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