The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons have signed an Antitrust Cooperation Framework with competition agencies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

The main aim of the Multilateral Mutual Assistance and Cooperation Framework for Competition Authorities (Framework) is to strengthen cooperation between the signatories. On the basis of this framework, a number of bilateral agreements focusing on assisting antitrust investigations can be enforced in the future. For instance, the countries can sign agreements on sharing confidential information and gathering cross-border evidence. Basically, this framework will help the competition agencies exchange confidential information during antitrust investigations. The model agreement is expected to serve as a template for subsequent agreements among signatories that would permit enhanced cooperation in both criminal and civil non- Hart Scott Rodino (HSR) Act matters. 

“The Framework sets a new standard for enforcement cooperation, strengthening our tools for international assistance and evidence gathering in the increasingly digital and global economy. We hope that it will provide a model for agencies around the world interested in enhancing international cooperation,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim. “It seeks to pave the way for better access to information and investigative assistance from the FTC’s counterparts while ensuring strong confidentiality safeguards.”