On 30 June 2021, the Government outlined its main legislative proposals for a new UK subsidy control regime. It introduced its long-awaited Subsidy Control Bill (the Bill) to Parliament, published a number of policy papers and provided a response to the public consultation that ran from 3 February to 31 March this year.
In this regional update, Baker Mckenzie provides you with a practical overview of the most notable antitrust legal developments of quarter 2 in 2021 that may affect your business.
On 9 July 2021, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order and a supporting Fact Sheet announcing 72 initiatives to increase vigorous antitrust enforcement. The Order sets competition-law priorities for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and more than a dozen other federal agencies coordinated through a new White House Competition Council.
Four new deliverables were introduced after a mid-term review of the original ASEAN Competition Action Plan 2016-2025. These include a new ASEAN Information Portal on Merger Cases, a new ASEAN Investigation Manual on Competition Policy and Law for the Digital Economy, initiatives to promote discussions between heads of competition authorities on the harmonization of competition policy and law, and a refreshed regional capacity building roadmap for 2021 to 2025.
Our Post Acquisition Integration Handbook provides a practical reference tool for any company contemplating, or in the process of executing, a multinational business acquisition and integration.
The European Commission (“Commission”) published a White Paper proposing to create three new review mechanisms aimed at addressing the potential distortive effects caused by foreign subsidies in the Single market generally; in acquisitions of EU companies; and during EU public procurement procedures. A public consultation is now open until 23 September 2020 during which stakeholders can provide their views on the options set out in the White Paper.
On June 15, 2021, the White House announced that the US and European Union (EU) have reached an agreement in the 16-year WTO Boeing-Airbus dispute and agreed to address shared challenges from China. The US and EU will suspend tariffs that were authorized by the WTO that are related to this dispute for five years and work together to challenge and counter China’s non-market practices in this sector in specific ways that reflect standards for fair competition. This includes collaboration on inward and outbound investment and tech transfer.
Episode 3: Foreign Direct Investments in France – Samantha Mobley (Partner, Baker McKenzie, London) talks to Marie Anne Lavergne, Head of the unit for Foreign Direct Investment in France, as well as Nataf Guillaume (Partner, Baker McKenzie Paris) on foreign investments screening in France.
The Law that establishes the new merger control regime, which regulates the prior control of business concentration operations, will enter into force as of 14 June 2021.
A bold vision of the future is redefining corporate strategy for businesses in Asia Pacific, with new opportunities arising from disruption. In this series of reports, we explore the defining characteristics of transactions, using the Strategy, Competition, Assets, Process, and ESG framework to understand legal complexity and stress test plans in an evolving landscape.