WASHINGTON – In a new op-ed for The Washington Reporter, Competitiveness Coalition Chair Scott Brown urges Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson to drop three of former Chair Lina Khan’s most anticompetitive and ideologically based cases.
“Despite the turmoil at the FTC, conservatives have a majority, and the timing is ripe for Chair Andrew Ferguson to dig out of the hole left behind by Lina Khan. For four years, Khan issued a blizzard of half-baked lawsuits, which created headlines and burned taxpayer resources,” writes Brown, a former U.S. Senator and Ambassador. “Now Khan’s unfinished business falls to Ferguson. He must determine the next steps of Khan’s clunkers, while also getting the FTC back to its mission of ensuring free and fair competition.”
Brown lists three specific cases that are tying up the Commission’s time and efforts which, if successful, would not enhance consumer welfare and may harm ordinary Americans, starting with the case against PepsiCo, launched just three days before President Biden and Chair Khan left office.
Brown continues by highlighting Khan’s case against Amazon, her “white whale”: “The lawsuit barely resembled Khan’s complaints about low prices. Khan argued that Amazon’s practice of only featuring competitive prices somehow led to higher prices – without offering evidence. She maligned the company for its logistics operation and its popular two-day shipping, claiming that the company should include competitors in the process.”
Brown’s third case study critiques the FTC’s lawsuit against the merger between Microsoft and Activision, which a judge has already ruled would not harm competition.
Brown concludes by calling for sensible reforms at the FTC, and reminding Ferguson of the benefits of dropping these cases as he helps President Trump to usher America into its new Golden Age: “With a limited budget, there is little room for Ferguson to bring new enforcement action, or even manage the day-to-day incoming helming the FTC, until he frees up resources. Doing so will not only move the country toward the president’s promised golden age, but also make America competitive again on the world stage.”
Read the full piece here.
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The Competitiveness Coalition is a first-of-its-kind group educating the public and advocating for policies that put consumers first while fostering innovation and attracting new investment.