FTC Holds New Hearing On Merger Retrospectives

On April 12, the Federal Trade Commission held a hearing to debate the extent to which the FTC should use retrospective reviews to strengthen merger enforcement. This was the latest in the series of hearings on Competition and Consumer Privacy in the 21st Century. The hearing included remarks from Republican FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simons, Democratic Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and panels with FTC economists, antitrust practitioners and academics. Panelists explored a range of options that the FTC might employ for carrying out retrospectives. All panelists, including Chairman Simons, favored, at least conceptually, some use of retrospectives. But the key takeaway is that the FTC still currently lacks the resources to implement a robust merger retrospective program. Without increased funding, the FTC likely will be able to conduct only a few merger retrospectives.