Companies push for meeting about US and EU antitrust agendas with Commerce Secretary Raimondo

So far the bulk of the anger towards Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo over her skepticism about EU tech regulations has come from civil society groups, but the business community is now mobilizing. A coalition of eight companies, including Yelp, Genius, Felt, Patreon, Beeper and REX, wrote that they support the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, the two EU rules Raimondo slammed during a recent US Chamber of Commerce event. “The EU proposals on market fairness and contestability have the support of numerous US companies which, for too long, have had to seek recourse before European institutions due to the failure of US enforcers and policy makers to address market concentration,” the companies wrote in a letter to Raimondo. The companies are asking for a meeting during the week of January 10. Confusion is growing about where the Biden administration stands on antitrust as his administration continues to press against the EU’s rules, most of which mirror antitrust proposals in the United States. Critics have argued that opposing the EU rules flies in the face of Biden’s competition executive order, as well as the views of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter.