US Chamber Of Commerce Exec Lashes At FTC Overreach

Suzanne Clark takes aim at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in her first annual address as head of Chamber of Commerce, reported the Financial Times.

“The Federal Trade Commission has taken such an aggressive stance against mergers and acquisitions that small and medium-sized businesses fear they’ll have worked for years to build something and have no exit strategy if they choose to sell,” said Suzanne Clark, in her first annual address as chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce. Clark attacked “modern-day trustbusters” from both parties, but singled out the FTC, which is chaired by Lina Khan, for trying to enlarge its powers.

According to the FT, Clark took aim at  “modern-day trustbusters” from both parties, but singled out the FTC, which is chaired by Lina Khan, for trying to enlarge its powers.

Khan took over the Commission with a remit to rewrite the way that US competition rules are enforced. She has already overturned several FTC policy statements that made it harder for the regulator to block takeovers and is now rewriting the guidance used by companies to decide whether a merger is legal.

The lobbying group stated it would take legal action if that warning was followed up with enforcement action. “If bureaucrats and elected officials don’t stop getting in the way, we will stop them, because what’s at stake is no less than the future of our free market economy,” Clark said on Tuesday.

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