Washington, DC - The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are co-hosting the International Competition Network’s (ICN) 19th annual conference, which opened Monday and ran through Thursday, September 17, 2020.  Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim and FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simons are leading the U.S. agencies’ participation in the ICN’s first virtual conference.  Assistant Attorney General Delrahim and Chairman Simons will deliver opening remarks and speak on the conference’s showcase program addressing the challenges of enforcement in the digital economy.

Originally planned as an in-person event in Los Angeles in May, the multi-day conference features discussions across a range of competition enforcement and policy issues, including those that involve the digital economy, and highlights the progress of the ICN Working Groups on mergers, cartels, unilateral conduct, advocacy and agency effectiveness.  ICN members and non-governmental advisors (NGAs) will participate, including leadership from antitrust agencies, as well as competition experts from international organizations and the legal, business and academic communities.  

“We are proud to co-host the ICN annual conference, an important forum for our international partners in antitrust enforcement and others who are dedicated to effective competition policy,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim. “As the economy moves to greater globalization and digitization, convergence and cooperation are more important than ever to ensuring sound antitrust enforcement.”

“The ICN’s work benefits consumers by promoting sound enforcement and policy, and by reinforcing competition’s central role in driving productivity, innovation, and economic recovery,” said FTC Chairman Joseph Simons.  It is a great honor for the FTC to support the ICN’s critical work and to co-organize this year’s conference.”

The ICN was created in October 2001 to increase understanding of competition policy and promote convergence toward sound antitrust enforcement around the world.  It was founded by 15 agencies including the Antitrust Division and FTC, and has grown to 140 agencies from 129 jurisdictions, supported by a wide network of NGAs from around the world.