The Efficiencies Defence in Merger Analysis in Canada and the US

Abstract

Whatever the statutory differences or language differences in Guidelines between Canada and the US the application of competition rules and procedures is remarkably similar in the two countries. Recent adjustments to the role of efficiencies in merger analysis in the two countries reveal a potential departure from this claim. The Canadian Competition Bureau (the agency responsible for the implementation of competition policy in Canada) has moved from a clear and focused position on the role of efficiencies in merger analysis to one that is much less certain and focused. For its part the US agencies (Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission) have moved from a more ambiguous or undefined position on the role of efficiencies in merger analysis to one that is more certain and focused.