(September 15) – “In a dramatic change of tone on antitrust policy, the U.S.’s top antitrust official has endorsed the establishment of an international organization to improve coordination among trust busters and ultimately vet cross-border mergers,” reports Brandon Mitchener in this morning’s Wall Street Journal.

“U.S. Assistant Attorney-General Joel Klein told a surprised international meeting of lawyers, economists and antitrust officials there was no other way to relieve regulatory friction generated by increasingly large and complicated deals. While stressing that he favored a ‘cautious beginning,’ Mr. Klein said, ‘the time has come for a world organization committed to these issues.'”

“At the same time, the U.S. official was emphatic that any such organization not be a part of the World Trade Organization — an idea the European Union has repeatedly promoted. The most contentious mergers down the road will need resolution of ‘naked competition issues’ with no relevance to global trade, he said.

“Many participants at the conference on the 10th anniversary of the EU’s Merger Task Force welcomed Mr. Klein’s remarks as an overdue admission that the current process of clearing large mergers and acquisitions places an unnecessary burden on business and society.

“Jacques Bougie, chief executive officer of Alcan Aluminium Ltd., said his company this year had to submit merger notifications in 16 countries in eight different languages at a cost of millions of dollars in its attempt to buy Pechiney SA of France and Alusuisse Lonza Group AG, or Algroup, of Switzerland. Alcan ultimately went ahead with the Algroup deal but gave up on Pechiney in the face of stiff regulatory opposition. ‘They all require the same information but you can’t send them the same documents because they require it in different formats,’ he said.

“Despite the fact that he failed to win EU approval of his bid to purchase Pechiney, Mr. Bougie said the body’s merger review regime was the ‘right directional model for a multijurisdictional system.’

“Contrary to the open-ended process in the U.S., the EU regime requires the commission to reach decisions within a strict, five-month timetable. It is also multilateral by definition, centered around the European Commission’s merger task force, but includes consultations with both individual European governments and other countries, including the U.S., Canada and Japan.