Biden-Era Merger Standards to Remain in Place Under Trump's FTC
Amidst concerns over corporate consolidations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under Trump's newly appointed chairman, Andrew Ferguson, will continue to enforce Biden-era merger guidelines.
In a Tuesday statement, Ferguson announced that the guidelines, adopted in 2023 under the leadership of Lina Khan, will serve as the "framework" for FTC's merger review process. These guidelines prioritize a more rigorous approach to antitrust enforcement by:
* Lowering thresholds for presuming mergers violate antitrust laws
* Considering labor market impacts
* Scrutinizing common ownership and platform competition
* Omitting consumer welfare as the primary review standard
Ferguson's decision suggests a continuation of bipartisan support for increased antitrust enforcement, which began during Trump's first term. Notably, between 2017-2019, the DOJ and FTC filed 118 M&A challenges, compared to 108 during Biden's first three years in office (2021-2023).
The Trump administration has already demonstrated its commitment to aggressive antitrust enforcement by filing a lawsuit to block Hewlett Packard's (HPE) acquisition of Juniper Networks (JNPR). The Justice Department alleges that the merger would harm competition in the enterprise wireless networking market. HPE and Juniper have refuted these claims, arguing that the combination will enhance innovation and customer choice.