Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim to Participate in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Virtual Meeting and Chair WP3 Session on Criminalization of Cartels

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim and other senior officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division will participate in the virtual meeting of the OECD Competition Committee over the next two weeks.

“Our continued participation in the global dialogue on competition law enforcement has been a top priority for the Antitrust Division over the past three years,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim.  “We very much value our partners abroad and the constructive role these meetings play in convergence of sound competition policy that benefits consumers and innovation.”  

The OECD Competition Committee includes 38 member countries and the European Union, as well as non-member participants, experts, and other invitees.  The Committee brings together leaders of the world’s major competition authorities for a dialogue on competition policy issues, including best practices and standards, and promotes market-oriented reforms.

The roundtables scheduled for the upcoming virtual meeting include the Criminalization of Cartels and Bid-Rigging Conspiracies; Conglomerate Effects of Mergers; Consumer Data Rights and Impact on Competition; Start-ups, Killer Acquisitions, and Merger Control Thresholds; and Competition Policy in Times of COVID-19.  The U.S. submissions on some of these topics, as well as submissions by other OECD members, are available on the OECD Competition Committee’s website at http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/roundtables.htm.  

On June 9, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, who chairs the working party 3, that focuses on enforcement and cooperation, will host the Criminalization of Cartels and Bid-Rigging Conspiracies roundtable.

On June 16, the Antitrust Division will present on the Department’s new Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) to the global community as part of a discussion on developments on competition in public procurement.  Additional information about the PCSF can be found on the Department of Justice’s website at https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

Antitrust Division officials presenting at the OECD meeting include Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Barry Nigro, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Rene Augustine, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki, and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General Taylor Owings.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.