Publications

While 2021 ushered in a resurgence of aggressive cartel enforcement, it remained predominantly focused on domestic, as opposed to global, matters. Yet, the developments of 2021 offer a view towards growing globalization of enforcement and areas that are likely to come into focus in 2022, including: the rise of the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority as a global cartel enforcer; increased scrutiny of labor markets across the globe; a renewed focus on financial institutions as economies seek to recover from the pandemic; elevated enforcement over procurement collusion; and the potential for policy shifts in the U.S. and EU that might enable the pursuit of sustainability goals through antitrust enforcement.

Looking Inward in 2021

Domestic cases were yet again the primary drivers of cartel figures in 2021 and continue to dominate the landscape of active investigations and litigation at the forefront of regulators’ dockets. While there are calls, including in the sweeping Executive Order issued last year by U.S. President Biden, for a return to global coordination and enforcement to mirror industry consolidation and trends, the largely domestic agendas that countries will employ to rebound from the impact of the global pandemic may temper those efforts.

Fine totals in 2021 reflected the continued focus on smaller-scale, domestic cartel matters, with notable jurisdictions posting fine totals well below historic highs. For example, U.S. fine totals remained at historically low levels, dipping further below 2020 figures, and enforcers in Japan and Canada posted no fines at all. Certain other notable enforcers, like Australia, Korea and China, saw some rebounding in their figures compared to recent years. The exception to the rule in 2021 was the European Commission, which imposed its highest total fines since 2016, although those figures were largely due to a series of long-pending, global enforcement matters—like the Foreign Exchange investigation—that were only recently concluded by the Commission.