The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) is concerned about the Trump Administration’s policy of keeping its predecessor merger guidelines.
In a public statement, the SBE Council said that “arbitrary and muddy guidelines” pursued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) harm opportunities for early-stage firms and small businesses.
SBE Council advocates on behalf of entrepreneurs across the country. While non-partisan, the group leans towards Republicans as they typically support innovation, access to capital, and entrepreneurship.
In this instance, the SBE Council claims that the FTC, under the leadership of Chairman Andrew Ferguson, will pursue the same goals of the former Chair Lina Khan, who was slammed for her left-wing objectives.
SBE Council Karen Kerrigan issued the following statement:
“The golden era for America’s economy is off to a rough start via the FTC’s action to maintain the arbitrary and muddy guidelines advanced in the previous administration. Correcting these guidelines by simply operating under the previous framework would have been a positive signal for entrepreneurs and investors, not one that would cause destabilization as characterized by Chairman Ferguson. The 2023 guidelines turned sound economic principles and continuity on their heads. Radically changing the guidelines is one of many actions that were a part of the government-wide assault on businesses and innovation during the Biden Administration. The FTC needs to correct this early misstep.”
SBE Council Chief Economist Raymond J. Keating chimed in, adding that the policies are disappointing and misguided.
“These measures are arbitrary and detached from economic and historical realities; and serve as a license for government regulators to, quite frankly, randomly interfere with and override decisions made by entrepreneurs, businesses, investors and consumers. Entrepreneurs, businesses and investors, again, are left wondering what will and will not pass muster with regulators. As a result, investment in entrepreneurial ventures are undermined, and the U.S. economy and competitiveness will suffer.”
Yesterday, Ferguson issued a statement on Merger Guidelines that stated 2023 rules will remain in place and will serve as the framework for the FTC’s merger-review analysis.
He stated:
“Stability is good for the enforcement agencies. The wholesale rescission and reworking of guidelines is time-consuming and expensive. We should undertake this process sparingly. We have limited resources to patrol the beat and constant turnover undermines agency credibility.”
Chairman Khan was defined by pursuing legal challenges the FTC inevitably lost.
WSJ.com wrote that the only ones who would miss the former Chair would be lawyers and the billable hours they racked up.
To quote an editorial on WSJ which lambasted the FTCs position on the proposed merger between two grocers:
“Ms. Khan prioritizes progressive hobby-horses above consumers. Grocery unions claimed the merger would make it harder to play Kroger against Albertsons to win higher wages and more generous benefits. But if that’s true, the FTC challenge will also likely result in higher prices, and it may cause some stores to close because they can’t compete.”
And:
“Mr. Ferguson’s job will be to rehabilitate the agency by refocusing on its mission of protecting consumers.”
Perhaps Ferguson has lost his way.
