JULY – SEPTEMBER 2021: HIGHLIGHTS -

UNITED STATES -

• The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) challenge of American Airlines and JetBlue’s “Northeast Alliance” after the joint venture’s approval by the US Department of Transportation earlier this year demonstrates the Biden administration’s commitment to aggressive antitrust enforcement.

• US President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order calling for tougher antitrust enforcement, including “encouraging” the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to modify the horizontal and vertical merger guidelines to address increasing consolidation. At the same time, the FTC, under Chair Lina Khan, continues its rapid pace of change to the merger review process, including introducing Pre-Consummation Warning Letters, rescinding the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines, repealing an over 25-year-old policy statement on “prior approval” obligations in merger settlements, and issuing more comprehensive and rigorous procedures for Second Requests. These changes only apply to transactions that the FTC reviews...