The FTC Shouldn’t Turn Back the Clock on Merger Analysis

Brian Albrecht February 19, 2025

Truth on the Market View Original Source

• 
  Back
  to Top

In a recent memo to staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Chairman Andrew Ferguson explained that they should continue using the merger guidelines that the FTC and U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division adopted jointly in 2023.

Ferguson’s memo noted that “the clear lesson of history is that we should prize stability” in merger policy. Gail Slater, President Donald Trump’s nominee to become assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the DOJ Antitrust Division, echoed this sentiment during her confirmation hearing.

The argument seems compelling on the surface; regulatory certainty has value. But we need to think carefully about what we’re trying to stabilize.

Read the full piece here.