U.S. Chamber of Commerce Appoints Christine Varney and Dave Kappos to Expert Group Commissioned to Evaluate International Antitrust Landscape and Interface Between Competition and Trade Policy

On August 26, 2016, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced that Cravath partners Christine A. Varney and David J. Kappos have been appointed to a group of leading independent experts commissioned to consider the challenges presented by divergent approaches to antitrust around the world and the interface between competition policy and trade policy. After deliberation, the group will issue a series of recommendations for the incoming Administration and Congress on how the U.S. should address the growing complexity and the challenges presented by divergent antitrust enforcement practices, the blend of industrial policy and competition policy and the relationship between antitrust and trade. The independent group is expected to complete its work and offer its recommendations by the end of January 2017.

Christine, Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust practice, is widely recognized as one of the leading antitrust lawyers in both private practice and in government service. She is the only person to have served as both the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust and as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission.

Dave is considered one of the foremost leaders in the field of intellectual property. His experience includes serving as Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In that role, he advised the President, Secretary of Commerce and the Administration on intellectual property policy matters.

More information on the group and the types of issues it is likely to examine is available here.