Markets Wired

The heads of the antitrust agencies of the United States, Canada and Mexico – Chairwoman Edith Ramirez of the Federal Trade Commission, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Canadian Commissioner of Competition John Pecman, and President Alejandra Palacios Prieto of the Mexican Federal Competition Commission – met today in Washington, D.C., to discuss their mutual efforts to ensure continued effective antitrust enforcement cooperation in our increasingly interconnected markets. 

The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including recent enforcement developments, cooperation and mutual support, and priority setting and efficiency in resource constrained environments. 

“Our meetings today enabled us to strengthen our relationships with our colleagues, including new agency leaders, in Canada and Mexico, and deepen our understanding of our common challenges,” said Chairwoman Ramirez. “We look forward to working together to ensure effective enforcement of our competition laws as well as to promoting sound policies that affect consumers in our three countries.”   

The meetings build on the foundations laid by the 1995 antitrust cooperation agreement between the United States and Canada, the 1999 agreement between the United States and Mexico, and the 2001 agreement between Canada and Mexico.  The agreements commit the antitrust agencies to cooperate and coordinate with each other to make their antitrust policies and enforcement as consistent and effective as possible.

The three nations also are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which includes a competition chapter that provides for cooperation among them in antitrust investigations. 

As more U.S. companies and consumers do business overseas, more FTC work involves international cooperation. The Office of International Affairs serves both as an internal resource to Commission staff on international aspects of their work and as an official representative to numerous international organizations. In addition, the FTC cooperates with foreign authorities through formal and informal agreements. The FTC works with more than 100 foreign competition and consumer protection authorities around the world to promote sound policy approaches. For questions about the Office of International Affairs, send an e-mail to oia@ftc.gov. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases and the FTC International Monthly for the latest FTC news and resources.