ACCC to coordinate with other competition agencies on cross-border investigations

A new ‘Multilateral Mutual Assistance and Cooperation Framework for Competition Authorities’ has been signed by the US DOJ and FTC, the UK CMA, the New Zealand Commerce Commission, the Competition Bureau of Canada and he ACCC. It came into effect yesterday (2 September 2020).

ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, said in a press release:

“Working more deeply with the highly-experienced competition investigators in other countries, who are often dealing with the same companies or industries, will greatly assist in gathering evidence across borders.”

“We expect this cooperation will particularly benefit our existing and ongoing investigations of digital platforms, which are being closely watched by many agencies globally,” Mr Sims said.

“Tackling anti-competitive conduct by multinational companies is critical to national economies and this international cooperation will benefit consumers and businesses in Australia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand.”

“The new cooperation agreement complements our existing formal and informal cooperation agreements with competition agencies in the US, Canada and NZ. It will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of competition investigations that span multiple jurisdictions …” 

See full media release.

Vie the Memorandum of Understanding (PDF)