No More Bumps in the Road: The DOJ’s No “Piling on” Policy Should Eliminate Indirect Commerce “Bumps” in International Cartel Investigations

This article was originally published in Bloomberg Law. Any opinions in this article are not those of Winston & Strawn or its clients. The opinions in this article are the authors' opinions only. 

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a new policy that discourages all federal prosecutors from “piling on” with “unfair duplicative penalties” by instructing prosecutors to coordinate with and consider fines by foreign enforcers for the same misconduct. Understanding that “[m]odern business operations regularly span jurisdictions and borders,” the new policy is designed to enhance relationships with law enforcement around the globe, “discourage disproportionate enforcement,” and “achieve reasonable and proportionate outcomes in major corporate investigations.” The Department of Justice included this new policy in the Justice Manual, which applies to all federal prosecutors, including Antitrust Division prosecutors.

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