Welcome to the 2019 Shearman & Sterling Antitrust Annual Report.
Our seventh edition focuses on the contrasting use by regulators of antitrust laws with respect to the FANGs, and how antitrust is being enforced in the U.S....more
7/24/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Media ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leniency Programs ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Recruitment Policies ,
State Aid ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit
Russia remained at the forefront this quarter, as the Trump Administration imposed new measures and markets reacted to the threat of additional, “crushing” sanctions from Congress on Russian sovereign debt. Meanwhile, EU...more
10/17/2018
/ CAATSA ,
Chemical Weapons ,
Counter-Terrorist ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Magnitsky Act ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Sovereign Debt ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Venezuela
The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act received Royal Assent on 23 May 2018.
Although the sanctions-related provisions of the Act are not yet in force, they will give the government wider powers to implement sanctions...more
The European Commission (EC) and other national competition authorities (NCAs) have traditionally shied away from investigating allegations of excessive pricing and appearing as price regulators. Commissioner Vestager warned...more
4/26/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Actavis Inc. ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Hoffman LaRoche ,
Merck ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Pricing ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
In perhaps the most hotly anticipated judgment in the European competition law world this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its landmark ruling on September 6, 2017 in Intel’s appeal against...more
4/26/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Appeals ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Rebates ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Rules of Civil Procedure
Large online platforms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google have a strong presence in Europe. Although general competition law principles apply to them, cases concerning online platforms give rise to a lot of novel questions...more
4/24/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Online Platforms ,
Social Networks ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The growth of e-commerce and the resulting increase in price transparency and price competition have a significant impact on companies’ distribution strategies and consumer behavior. While the emergence of e-commerce has the...more
4/20/2018
/ Amazon ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coty ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Internet Retailers ,
Manufacturers ,
Product Pricing ,
Retailers ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
It has been a year since Article 50 was triggered on March 29, 2017, and if no extension is given, the U.K. will leave the European Union (EU) on March 29, 2019. This means that negotiations are now at the half-way point, but...more
4/18/2018
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EFTA ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Member State ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
WTO
Algorithms and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become commonplace in a vast number of markets, and this has drawn the attention not only of competition law academics and practitioners, but also of competition...more
The EU and U.S. competition authorities have been and remain active in enforcing gun-jumping cases, while in recent years other competition authorities across the world, including in China, have also become increasingly...more
4/12/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM
In China, where foreign investments used to be subject to a case-by-case evaluation, the screening process for acquisitions of local businesses by foreign investors is being simplified and becoming more industry-focused. This...more
4/12/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
UK
Is this perception well-founded? And does it represent a new policy trend towards ‘social justice’ objectives or simply a continuation of a policy driver that has underpinned EU competition enforcement for some time?...more
4/11/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
R&D ,
State Aid ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Shearman & Sterling’s 2017 Antitrust Annual Report reflects our lawyers’ experience and insights on key antitrust risks affecting our clients’ businesses.
...more
3/22/2017
/ American Express ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Data ,
Cartels ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
FTAIA ,
Merger Controls ,
State Aid ,
UK Brexit
OFAC amends the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to ease Cuban sanctions in response to President Obama’s policy changes announced on December 17, 2014. These revisions have major implications for the banking and financial...more
4/18/2016
/ Boeing ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
EU ,
General Licenses ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Myanmar ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
United Nations
Although the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations lifted a number of sanctions targeting Iran on January 16, 2016 (“Implementation Day”) in accordance with the terms of the recent Iran nuclear deal, the...more
Although US and EU sanctions targeting Iran are not likely to be lifted before early 2016, there are a number of issues which US and EU-based financial institutions should be aware of in preparation for sanctions relief as a...more
9/28/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Implementation Day ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
P5+1 Nations ,
SDN List
What are the prospects for business with Iran after the June 30 deadline to complete negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program? In exchange for limitations on Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, the European Union...more
In this issue:
- US and EU continue sanctions against Russia for its activity in Ukraine;
- US and EU sanctions against the Crimea region;
- US makes major change in Cuban relations;
- The EU...more
1/14/2015
/ Crimea ,
Cuba ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Syria ,
Trade Relations ,
Ukraine
In this issue:
- The Revised OFAC 50 Percent Rule
- U.S. and E.U. Sectoral Sanctions Targeting Russia
- Additional U.S. Sanctions Targeting Iran
- Sanctions Targeting Ongoing Conflicts in Syria,...more
10/21/2014
/ Banking Sector ,
Defense Sector ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Plan of Action ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SSI List ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Ukraine
In this issue:
- US Authorities End Quarter Full of Enforcement Actions with $8.9 Billion BNP Settlement
- US and EU Make Numerous Ukraine-Related Designations as Separatist Aggression Continues
- US...more
In this edition:
- Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action with Iran
- Additional US Iran-Related Sanctions and Licenses
- OFAC Civil Settlements
- US and EU Sanctions in Response to the Situation in...more
In this edition:
- Iranian Sanctions Eased to Allow Additional Humanitarian Exports and Activities
- New Iranian Sanctions Designations Announced
- Significant Reduction Waivers Extended
- Global...more