Letters from CAMP: Post-Election Antitrust
Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
CAMP is fighting for a more democratic economy
Welcome to Letters from CAMP, a newsletter on anti-monopoly activity in Canada and abroad, brought to you by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. In this installment we have:
Let's dive in.
What Does Trump Mean for the Future of the Anti-monopoly Movement?
With the outcome of the U.S. election decided and the Trump Vance ticket victorious, the coming months offer ample opportunity for speculation on what the next Trump administration will actually look like in practice. Naturally, at CAMP we’re focused on what this means for the future of American antitrust after four years of some of the most dramatic, exciting and beneficial action in the space.
The hard truth is that a continuation of the momentum under the Biden administration is unlikely. As anti-monopoly advocate Matt Stoller pointed out this week, one group for which this message is coming through loud and clear is the good folks on Wall Street. CNBC pundits report hearing from the CEOs of the largest companies on the planet that they are licking their chops dreaming up the kinds of mergers and acquisitions that were out of the question under the leadership of FTC Chair Khan and U.S. DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kanter.
There is good reason for their excitement and our concern. Absent from the most recent campaign was the anti-big business rhetoric that made up a plank of Trump’s pitch in 2016. In its place, a close embrace of interest groups like Big Oil and Big Crypto, as well as Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet and no fan of Chair Khan. There is a very real possibility that the next Trump administration shutters the important ongoing antitrust challenges against firms like Google and Amazon and pro-competition work of agencies like the Department of Transport and Agriculture.
It was never going to be a smooth ride for truly anti-monopoly antitrust, no matter the outcome of the election. As CAMP executive director Keldon Bester wrote earlier this year, the embrace by Kamala Harris of Big Tech boosters into her closest circles meant it was just as likely that her administration broke with Biden’s pushback against the tide of corporate power. Having faced a real challenge for the first time in decades, corporate power is once again flexing against the tools of democracies to keep them in check.
Still, there is reason for optimism. Trump’s selection of J.D. Vance as his Vice President brought one of the most prominent Republican fans of trustbusters like Lina Khan and Rohit Chopra into the President-elect’s orbit. Vance draws on the work of prominent thinkers on the American right, including Compact magazine editor Sohrab Ahmari who earlier this year called on the next President, whoever they ended up being, to keep in place the economic reformers brought in under Biden.?
It is also worth keeping in mind that the surge in antitrust activity in the United States has not been limited to the federal agencies, with states and private actors bringing a range of important suits against concentrated power. And as groups like CAMP here in Canada and the Balanced Economy Project in Europe prove, the pushback against global corporate power is just that: global. The Biden administration led the way in showing people around the world what anti-monopoly policy can do for average citizens. Returning to Stoller, there’s “no putting the toothpaste back in the tube on competition policy.”
The truth is that no one knows what American antitrust will look like under the next Trump administration. But what was going to be true no matter the outcome of the U.S. election is that our work is just getting started.
??CAMP in the News??
Other Things Happened This Week, We Swear
The Competition Bureau has come out in favour of choice at the pharmacy. Joining a list that includes provincial authorities, pharmacist associations and consumer advocacy groups, the Competition Bureau has made it clear: preferred provider networks (PPNs) harm patient choice. PPNs are exclusive arrangements between insurance providers and corporate pharmacy brands. These arrangements have meant patients are either forced to change pharmacies or pay out of pocket for medications if an in-network pharmacy is unavailable.??
As CAMP has discussed before, business deals that limit consumers choice in pharmacies are simply strategies to consolidate the market power of the larger insurance providers and vertically integrated pharmacy chains. We’re encouraged that the Bureau has listened to the public outcry against the recent attempts to establish and expand PPNs in Canada.
But the implications of PPNs reach beyond immediate consumer choice—they threaten the viability of independent and community-based pharmacies, particularly in rural and underserved areas. The Bureau’s submission emphasized that these restrictive arrangements could lead to a more concentrated pharmacy market, ultimately limiting patients' access to essential medications and health services. It is essential that policymakers protect the competitive landscape to ensure that all pharmacies, big and small, can serve their communities without artificial corporate barriers.
??What We’re Reading??
Dividend Recapitalizations and the Giant Sucking Sound in the Canadian Economy
The phrase ‘dividend recapitalization’ doesn’t exactly excite the senses, but it should. This week CAMP fellow Rachel Wasserman took to the pages of the Globe and Mail to outline how the seemingly innocuous practice by private equity firms is actually a drag on Canadian productivity and prosperity. Dividend recapitalizations involve private equity firms forcing the portfolio companies they own to take on massive new debt just to hand over cash in the form of dividends.?
The practice leaves companies strapped and unprepared for growth—or worse, hardship. The same cash that could be used to invest in the business, boost productivity and create jobs ends up filling investors' pockets, while Canadian workers, businesses, and communities bear the risks and consequences. Policymakers need to understand these practices and the incentives that drive them. Rachel points out that we need policies and business behavior that prioritizes long-term growth and sustainability over short-term investor gains.
The timing for Rachel’s article couldn’t be better. On November 18th at 12 - 1pm EST, CAMP and Social Capital Partners (SCP) will be hosting a virtual talk on private equity and its impact on the Canadian economy.?
With a panel that includes the executive director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project and the author of Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America, it’s sure to be an interesting discussion and we encourage you to register here.
If you have any monopoly tips or stories you'd like to share, drop us a line at [email protected]