Despite the introduction of the U.S. - EC merger review co-operation initiative in the early nineties, transatlantic mergers remain a minefield for all those involved. For the parties there is the lack of legal certainty and its attendant costs and reputation; for the regulators there is the political toll of reconciling conflicting competition policies. Charles Smitherman reviews merger regulation frameworks on both sides of the Atlantic. The author identifies areas of substantive and procedural differences as they exist today and explores the viability of convergence to aid the efficiency of the merger process through bilateral and domestic enhancements. Throughout the work the emphasis is placed on pragmatic solutions rather than those of academic and oft-unobtainable nature. The backbone of the work is made up of the analysis of eight of the biggest U.S. - EC merger cases between 2000 and 2004.

Governance in the global economy is a topic of enormous importance. Despite the triumph of free trade, many actors still try to protect important sectors of society from the potentially destructive effects of unfettered free markets, and rules remain indispensable in settling disputes among states over trade, investments, and copyrights. This book is particularly significant because of its conceptual clarity and broad scope. Focusing on the transatlantic area as the engine of the world economy, the editors assess three different conceptual models offered by scholars: the classic state-centered approach, the transgovernmental approach, and the transnational system of private actors in an emerging global society. After a series of excellent case studies on trade and competition policies, food safety, business and labor dialogues, and civil-society initiatives, the editors conclude that 'the U.S. executive and the European Commission have been and remain the dominant actors in transatlantic governance.' Among all these networks, business remains the most successful. At a time when many essay collections are loosely shaped, unoriginal, or jargon-ridden, this one is a model of research and analysis. —-Foreign Affairs

The European and American economies are closely interlinked as mutually important investment and trading partners. The growing intensity of economic interdependence has spurred the transatlantic coordination of rules and standards that can lead to the formation of non-tariff barriers to transatlantic commerce. But despite impressive government-to-government efforts to eliminate market barriers, the E.U. and the U.S. have frequently clashed over each other's regulatory policies. The aim of this book is to explore the domestic sources of cooperation or conflict in transatlantic regulation. The book analyses the role of domestic factors through three theoretical lenses that are well-established in the study of multilevel systems: the principal-agent approach, the two-level game metaphor, and through a wider concept of institutionalism which emphasises the links between societal interests and regulatory ideas with institutional frameworks. The book states that domestic factors embody more obstacles than opportunities for horizontal coordination. It is argued that transatlantic relations will likely undergo a ‘double movement’ of being simultaneously shifted upwards to become part of the global governance architecture, and downwards towards broader involvement of legislators in regulatory matters. Hence, transatlantic regulation might in the near future be shaped more by political leaders, rent-seeking interest groups and legislators than by networks of technocrats. This book was published as a special issue of the Review of International Political Economy.

Competition policy—encompassing cartels, monopolies, mergers and state aid—is a hallmark of the European Union (EU). In recent decades, the EU’s competition policy has evolved under pressures from globalization. The EU in turn has been a key actor driving the globalization of the world economy through its increasingly active competition policy. This volume identifies and explores the major transformations that EU competition policy has undergone in the last decade in response to various pressures related to globalization, in particular, economic interdependence, the proliferation of national and regional competition regimes, and the financial and economic crisis. The individual chapters, written by specialists of EU competition policy from both sides of the Atlantic and from the perspectives of political science, management and public policy, investigate how the EU has responded to these challenges in each area of competition policy, and demonstrate that it has, on balance, been quite successful in responding to them, with some exceptions in the areas of state aid and mergers. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.

The book is handsomely produced by Edward Elgar. . . The notes contain more than citations and are well worth reading. A welcome feature is that after each set of notes there is a list of the most important writings on the topic followed by a list of the most important cases. Edward Elgar is well known in economic circles, hence the endnotes to which economists are accustomed. . . It has published several books on competition for lawyers over the last years and is a welcome entrant to the lawyers market. Valentine Korah, World Competition This extremely well done and important book collects writings by more than two dozen academics and practitioners on important topics in competition law. . . This is an excellent book, important for research by anyone who is serious about global or comparative competition policy. European Law Review This Handbook assembles a valuable collection of insightful analyses dealing with many cutting-edge issues arising in modern antitrust enforcement on both sides of the Atlantic. Philip Lowe, European Commission The contributions to this Handbook provide a comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of antitrust law in the Americas and Europe. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about antitrust law and its administration in the major enforcement areas of the world. This is bound to become an important reference for antitrust students and experts. Keith Hylton, Boston University, US This comprehensive research Handbook brings together cutting-edge legal and economic analysis into antitrust issues by leading experts from Europe, the USA, Canada, Mexico and South America. The Handbook of Research in Trans-Atlantic Antitrust covers a wide-range of areas including: the meaning of consumer welfare mergers in monopsony markets unilateral effects private and criminal enforcement implementing competition policy in regulated sectors abuse of intellectual property rights competition remedies international enforcement cooperation complainants rights dominant firm pricing tying and bundling. The Handbook also includes discursive consideration of the similarities and differences among the various regimes on either side of the Atlantic, as well as a look to future trends and applications in regional and global contexts. Offering a comparative view of pressing antitrust issues, this Handbook will be of great interest to academics, lawyers, practitioners and officials.

Mergers and acquisitions occur for many legitimate reasons and should be encouraged as a matter of general policy, yet the resulting increase in the level of market concentration and market strength can lead to concerns that certain ’deals’ may irreparably damage the market structure and create anti-competitive effects. This volume explores the competition concerns arising out of mergers and acquisitions, the reasons for merger control and the fundamental options that face all jurisdictions intent on implementing an effective merger control regime. The volume acts as a guide through the development of merger control law, policy and scholarly thought and includes commentary on each of the key stages of any effective merger control regime. The articles consider the objectives of merger control and the broader political landscape within which mergers take place; the procedural issues in merger control, including jurisdictional matters and due process; the different substantive legal standards incorporated into merger control; the relevant theories of harm and the appropriate treatment of efficiencies; and the use of remedies in merger control. The chosen articles mainly, but not exclusively, focus on the US and EU, and several adopt a cross-disciplinary approach encompassing law, political science and economics.