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Press Release

Antitrust Division Applauds New International Leniency Guidelines

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
New guidelines will increase effectiveness of international cartel enforcement through better cooperation

The Antitrust Division helped lead the International Competition Network (ICN) initiative on cross-border leniency cooperation to fight international price fixing cartels.  The ICN released the “Guidance on Enhancing Cross-Border Leniency Cooperation,” a year-long effort undertaken by the ICN’s Cartel Working Group.  The guidance document is designed to assist competition agencies around the globe in engaging and cooperating with their international counterparts when dealing with leniency applicants and other cooperating companies in cross-border investigations.

“Cooperation with our international partners has been a key priority of the Division and I am proud of our continued leadership in developing consensus with ICN members around this important initiative.  I applaud the hard work of all of the members of the ICN Cartel Working Group who made this guidance document possible,” said Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust.

The Antitrust Division worked with a team of antitrust agencies from around the world to develop the guidance, including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Canada’s Competition Bureau, Chile’s Fiscalía Nacional Económica, Brazil’s Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, Hong Kong’s Competition Commission, New Zealand’s Commerce Commission, and the co-chairs of the ICN Cartel Working Group’s Subgroup 1, Turkey’s Rekabet Kurumu and Hungary’s Gazdasági Versenyhivatal. 

The Antitrust Division’s efforts were led by Deputy for Criminal Enforcement, Richard Powers, and Deputy for International and Policy, Rene Augustine, and members of the International Section, including International Section Chief, Lynda Marshall, Assistant Chief Michelle Rindone, and other key staff of the Division.  The Guidance on Enhancing Cross-Border Leniency Cooperation is now available on the ICN’s website.  The project complements existing ICN work product on leniency, including a 2017-2018 fact-finding survey and a 2019 report entitled Good Practices for Incentivising Leniency Applications.

Updated July 10, 2020

Press Release Number: 20-647