Washington, DC - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Friday announced it has commissioned a diverse group of leading experts to thoughtfully consider the challenges presented by globally divergent approaches to antitrust and the interface between competition policy and trade policy. After deliberation, the group will issue a series of recommendations for how the United States should approach these challenges.

“Antitrust around the world has become incredibly complex, at times appears to be used as a tool of industrial policy, and in many jurisdictions there are serious transparency and due process shortcomings” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of International Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “It is our hope that this group can shed light on practicable and actionable steps forward that will serve to advance sound trade and competition policy.”

The independent group is expected to seek outside input from a range of interests before issuing its recommendations at the end of January. 

Members of the independent experts group include:

• Terry Calvani, Of Counsel, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer U.S. LLP; Former Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
• Dennis Carlton, David McDaniel Keller Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute; Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
• Eleanor Fox, Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation, New York University School of Law
• Deborah Garza, Partner and Co-Chair, Global Competition Group, Covington & Burling; Chair, Antitrust Modernization Commission and Former Acting Assistant Attorney General and Deputy AAG, U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division
• David Kappos, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Former Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Charles S. Levy, Partner, Cassidy Levy Kent
• Abbott (Tad) Lipsky, Jr., Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP; Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Douglas Melamed, Professor of the Practice of Law, Stanford Law School; Former Acting Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Alan H. Price, Partner and Chair, International Trade Practice, Wiley Rein LLP
• James Rill, Senior Counsel, Baker Botts LLP; Former Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Ambassador Susan Schwab, Strategic Advisor, Mayer Brown LLP; Former U.S. Trade Representative
• Andrew Shoyer, Partner and Co-Chair, International Trade Practice, Sidley Austin LLP
• Christine Varney, Partner and Chair, Antitrust Practice, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Former Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Joshua Wright, University Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University; Former Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

In addition, Alden Abbott will serve as rapporteur to the group. He is a Rumpel Senior Legal Fellow and Deputy Director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation and former Director of Antitrust Policy for the Federal Trade Commission.