Overview
The US Treasury Department (Treasury) released a report that outlined a series of reforms aimed at boosting competition in the combined $250 billion US beer, wine and spirits markets in response to US President Joe Biden’s executive order on competition. Specifically, the reforms include enhanced scrutiny by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) concerning merger and acquisition activity in the industry, as well as new trade practice enforcement guidance. What exactly are the recommendations listed in the report, and how do they affect your business in the short- and long-term?
Join McDermott Partners Alva Mather, Lesli Esposito and Greg Heltzer as they analyze how Treasury’s recommendations could impact your risk profile in terms of increased regulatory oversight, and how you can best navigate a deal in a reinvigorated enforcement landscape.
Discussion topics include:
- Refocused trade practice enforcement guidance on category management and tying arrangements
- Enhanced scrutiny of mergers in alignment with the FTC and DOJ’s more creative and nuanced theories of harm in such reviews
- Recommendations for updating key state and federal regulations, which may hinder competition and open markets
- Suggestions to focus enforcement efforts away from smaller industry participants
- Other recommended reforms for combating “exclusionary behavior” by big companies to save consumers money
