![](https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/original_1625206747-e1632313387828-2.jpg)
US antitrust officials are set to announce steps to speed approvals for companies that want to team up to help provide needed supplies to combat the coronavirus outbreak, according to Bloomberg.
The Justice Department’s antitrust division and the Federal Trade Commission plan to announce a joint effort as soon as Monday to shorten reviews of cooperative efforts by companies to no more than a week, the person said.
Companies typically have to wait months for enforcers to sign off on partnerships that may risk running afoul of antitrust laws. The move is aimed at speeding up the delivery of critical supplies like virus testing kits, ventilators and protective equipment like face masks. Companies could also seek approval to team up to provide services related to the fight against coronavirus, the person said.
While officials have fielded informal requests from some companies in response to the virus, the two antitrust agencies will now provide formal written guidance to companies.
The president is under pressure from Democrats and states to invoke the Defense Production Act, under which he could order private companies to produce supplies. He has stopped short of that and is calling on US industries to step forward themselves to manufacture needed equipment.
The Defense Production Act would exempt companies from antitrust liability under some circumstances. On Sunday, the president said companies are responding without being forced. General Motors Co., for example, is forming a collaborative venture with Ventec Life Systems Inc. to help that company increase production of ventilators.
While that tie-up might not trigger antitrust concerns, an agreement between GM and Ford Motor Co. to collaborate on equipment and supplies might. The announcement by the antitrust agencies could speed clearance for such cooperation between competitors.
“The beauty is, they are calling us,” he said, citing GM and Ford and their interest in working on ventilators. “We have the threat of doing it if we need it. We may have to use it somewhere along the supply chain in a minor way.”
Featured News
Canadian Breadmakers Settle Price-Fixing Lawsuit
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
EssilorLuxottica Open to Meta as Shareholder, Says CEO Francesco Milleri
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
California Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 22, Securing Independent Contractor Status for Uber and Lyft Drivers
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Paramount Global Investor Sues to Block Skydance Media Merger
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Software Vendors Win Class Action Status in Antitrust Case Against CDK Global
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Trade & Antitrust
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
What is Wrong with the WTO Discipline on Subsidies?
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
The Abiding Tension Between Trade Remedy Law and Antitrust
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
Trade and Antitrust: An End to Isolationism
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
International Trade Law and Domestic Regulation of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Divergent Approaches?
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI