Antitrust enforcement increasingly a tool for domestic policymaking – Freshfields’ Jenn Mellott with Reuben Miller

"This merger of policy and antitrust is not specific to the US. It's a global phenomenon,” says Jenn Mellott, managing partner at Freshfields working in both Washington DC and Brussels.

What began five years ago - with the Biden administration’s broadening of antitrust to consider more than just what is best for the consumer - has become an increasingly popular strategy around the world to serve policy goals. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have been utilizing antitrust as a political tool to address different policy issues from labor issues to domestic supply chain concerns.

In this week’s Dealcast, Mellott, who works on competition cases both sides of the pond and has represented companies such as Adobe, Starbucks, and AstraZeneca, joins Mergermarket’s global chief regulatory editor, Reuben Miller. Together they discuss how political agendas, alongside geopolitical tensions, are impacting dealmaking and driving the need for a strong global narrative in large transactions.

The episode explores how international deals could face speedbumps with national governments that may be misaligned on initiatives, like ESG. The conversation dives into which countries, like the UK and China, are using their regulatory bodies to address local or regional policy priorities. Mellott and Miller also discuss the role of state attorneys general in the US, and how they are impacting deals in the Trump 2.0 administration.

This Dealcast explores questions like: what is "America First" antitrust? Which sectors are facing increased regulatory scrutiny? How does foreign direct investment screening influence transactions? And what is the role of lobbyists in getting deal approvals?