On 11 April 2024, the CMA published an update paper (the Update Paper) in relation to its initial review of AI Foundation Models (FMs).  An accompanying technical update report (the Technical Update Report) was published on 16 April 2024, providing further detail on market developments and feedback from stakeholder engagement.  These updates follow the CMA’s September 2023 initial report into the same topic (the Initial Report). Summary Although the CMA recognizes that large technology firms have been “drivers of innovation in this space,”[1] it is “concerned that the FM sector is de ..read more

Cleary Gottlieb counsel Cunzhen Huang and associates Huanbing Xu and Yiming Sun co-authored “China’s Review of Semiconductor Transactions,” which appeared in the latest issue of the CPI Antitrust Chronicle, published by Competition Policy International. Read the article here ..read more

On 25 January 2024, the Microeconomics Unit[1] of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a report examining competition and market power in UK labour markets (the Report).  The Report is the Unit’s first published work, covering developments in the labour markets over the last two decades.  Over this period, labour markets have changed significantly through the rise of flexible working and the gig economy (defined as labour services contracted through digital platforms), changes in restrictive covenants (contract clauses that restrict what workers can do after they lea ..read more

On February 27, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its roadmap for 2024-2025 as every year,[1] outlining its enforcement priorities for the year ahead.  The FCA emphasized the need to take action in the same key areas of interest as in 2023[2]: (i) the digital economy, (ii) sustainability and the ecological transition, and (iii) the protection of purchasing power.  Antitrust challenges in the digital markets The FCA emphasized that it would actively pursue anticompetitive practices by digital companies. Substantively, it pinpointed the risk of maj ..read more

On October 15, 2023, following an accord with the Maduro regime in Venezuela, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued General License 44, “Authorizing Transactions Related to Oil or Gas Sector Operations in Venezuela,” which temporarily authorized transactions related to oil and gas sector operations, including transactions involving PdVSA. This was described in the Reed Smith update, which may be found here. Prior to the issuance of General License 44, U.S. persons were prohibited from engaging in virtually all oil and gas-related transactions in Ven ..read more

In a 350-page decision dated  December 29, 2023, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) sanctioned four professional associations and eleven undertakings, in their capacity as members of these associations, for having implemented a collective strategy to prevent market players from competing on the presence or absence of Bisphenol A (“BPA”) in food containers (the “Decision”). [1] The total fine amounts to €19,543,400. Background BPA, a synthetic chemical employed in the production of resins, is commonly utilized in the interior lining of metal cans and metal lids used in the food ..read more

On December 21, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal (the “Court”) upheld the French Competition Authority’s (“FCA”) decision to jointly and severally fine Mayotte Channel Gateway (“MCG”) as the author of the infringement, and Société Nel Import Export (“SNIE”) as its parent company, for obstructing the investigation by willfully and repeatedly failing to respond to an information request (the “Decision”).[1] Background In 2018, the FCA launched an investigation against MCG in relation to practices carried out in the maritime transport sector in Mayotte.[2]  On December 14, 2020, the FCA issue ..read more

In the latest instalment of Cleary Gottlieb’s Antitrust Review podcast, host Nick Levy is joined by Maria Jaspers, who heads the EC’s Cartels Directorate. Their conversation covers an array of topics, including the EC’s enforcement practice and leniency program, dawn raids in a digital world, the settlement procedure, follow-on damages actions, global enforcement, and much more. Listen below, or select from the following links: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Spotify ..read more

On February 13, 2024, the European Commission approved the acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air Lines (“Korean Air”),[1] following an in-depth Phase II probe and extensive remedy discussions.  Background In November 2020, Korean Air, South Korea’s largest airline (by fleet size), announced the acquisition of Asiana, the second largest South Korean airline, which had come under increasing financial pressure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Korean Air formally notified the transaction to the Commission on January 13, 2023.  During Phase I, the Commission identified o ..read more

On 8 March, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) handed down a third judgment in two years in the hydrocortisone litigation (the“Judgment”),[1] overturning its own Hydrocortisone (Cartel Infringements) judgment of 29 September 2023.  The CAT found that the provisional findings of the Hydrocortisone (Cartel Infringements) judgment were “unsafe in the most fundamental way” as a result of “a very serious failure of due process” (Judgment, para. 10), referring to a failure by the CMA to cross-examine two Appellant witnesses on a point that formed the basis of the CMA’s case. The CAT ov ..read more