UK competition regulator says its 'ready for Brexit challenge'

UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) published guidance on Tuesday to explain how it will conduct its work following the end of the transition period for the UK’s exit from the EU at the end of the year, stating it is ready for the challenge.

The UK’s exit from the EU presents both challenges and opportunities for the CMA and for the UK’s competition and consumer protection regimes, the watchdog said in a statement.

It said it is “committed to making the most of the upcoming opportunities to secure good outcomes for UK consumers, ensuring that its work is directly relevant to people’s everyday life, while playing a bigger role internationally to promote competition and protect consumers.”

As of 1 January 2021, the regulator will take on responsibility for merger, cartel and competition enforcement cases that were previously reserved to the European Commission. These are typically the larger and more complex cases.

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The CMA said it “is ready for this challenge” and has committed resources to ensure that it has the people, skills and infrastructure in place to deal with these investigations.

“The CMA already has experience of working with authorities internationally on cases with a potential impact on UK consumers, and will continue its close engagement and cooperation with other competition and consumer agencies in the EU and globally,” the statement said.

It also said it is ready to take on new functions “with professionalism, impartiality and analytical rigour, including the proposed Office for the Internal Market and establishing a new Digital Markets Unit in 2021/22.”

The government had announced last week that a dedicated Digital Markets Unit would be set up to introduce and enforce a new code to govern the behaviour of platforms that currently dominate the market, such as Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB). The new unit is slated to begin work in April.

And the UK Internal Market bill, related to the internal market for goods and services in the country, if passed in parliament will create an Office for the Internal Market within the CMA. It is meant to “carry out a set of independent advisory, monitoring and reporting functions to support the development and effective operation of the UK internal market.”

Domestically, consumer protection law will remain largely unchanged.

Last week, the CMA said it will take a complaint against Google, related to its market study into online platforms and the digital advertising market, “very seriously” and may open a formal investigation under the Competition Act.

Meanwhile, the deadlock continues in Brexit trade talks.

Ireland’s Taoiseach – prime minister – Michael Martin earlier this week warned the EU that Britain will not be “tied to their way of doing things” although he was “hopeful” an agreement could be reached by the end of the week.

Less than 30 days remain until the end of Britain’s transition period, with severe economic disruption in the event of a no deal.

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