Worldwide: Antitrust/Competition Law

Global M&A activity in Q1 2026 reached $861.1B, marking a 9.7% increase from the previous year and the strongest start since 2021. With megadeals, cross-border expansion, and sector concentration reshaping the landscape, companies face heightened challenges in antitrust risk, due diligence complexity, and post-transaction litigation exposure.

How are public affairs strategies reshaping merger advocacy in today's regulatory environment? Managing Partner Jeny Maier and Nat Wood from Rational 360 explore the evolving playbook for strategic communications in M&A deals, examining how lobbying and public affairs intersect with antitrust considerations under current administrations.

Geopolitical volatility and the desire for defense resilience are creating a powerful new investment cycle, with governments looking to mobilize private capital to scale industrial capacity, particularly in dual-use and technology-led assets. But this is not a conventional market: complex regulation, political oversight and constrained deal dynamics demand a fundamentally different approach from investors seeking to participate.

This comprehensive global competition law update examines recent enforcement actions, regulatory developments, and judicial decisions across multiple jurisdictions including the United States...

On June 4, 2026, Crowell Partners Caroline Brown and Anand Sithian hosted the ACSS New York Chapter at the New York office for an in-person panel discussion titled...

The Department of Justice recently announced that Bayer CropScience voluntarily removed potentially anticompetitive provisions from its Premier Performance Program during an ongoing investigation. The program's tying arrangements and exclusivity incentives raised concerns about foreclosing competition in seed markets, highlighting critical antitrust risks that companies with loyalty programs should evaluate before facing enforcement scrutiny.

Beyond well-known antitrust exemptions like state-action immunity and the baseball exemption, Congress has carved out numerous lesser-known immunities for specific industries and activities.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined that Brazil's policies across six areas—including digital trade restrictions, preferential tariffs, anti-corruption enforcement failures, intellectual property gaps...

President Trump's Executive Order on "Strengthening Customs Enforcement" introduces sweeping reforms to U.S. customs regulations, imposing stricter requirements on importers of record, particularly foreign entities, while establishing enhanced penalties and enforcement mechanisms.