ABA section releases 60-page Presidential Transition Report

The American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law recently released its 60-page eighth sequential Presidential Transition Report, which offers a retrospective of current state and federal antitrust and consumer protection law and policy as well recommendations for ways the new Trump administration might consider further strengthening policy and enforcement to deal with new antitrust challenges on the horizon.

The report is the product of a team of lawyers, professors and economists, including private practitioners, a member of the federal judiciary and scholars from the nation’s leading universities.

The consensus of these experts, according to the ABA, is a compelling case for the foundational statutes, for the judicial interpretations and for the objective analysis that have shaped the law.

Among highlights in the report:

• Recommendations for policy in health care, vertical mergers and privacy.

• Calls for more transparency and consistency in investigations.

• Analysis of controversial issues at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property.

• Concern about the competitive effects of emerging financial regulations.

• Criticism of civil-penalty assessments and proposals for reform.

• Support for the importance of international engagement.

• Identification of numerous policies in need of agency guidance.

The views expressed are on behalf of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law and have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the ABA’s board of governors and, unless otherwise noted, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association.