CADE holds international seminar on competition defence

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), in partnership with the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), held the 2023 Antitrust Global Seminar Series on 14 February. Specialists in competition defence gathered at CADE to debate current matters related to the technology sector in Brazil and Latin America.

The opening of the event—which was part of the agenda of PinCade, a program to introduce university students to CADE and its activities—was conducted by the president of the Brazilian competition authority, Alexandre Cordeiro, and the director of the ABA Antitrust Law Section, Hartmut Schneider.

In his speech, President Cordeiro remembered a previous edition of the Antitrust Global Seminar Series held at CADE in 2018 and highlighted the importance of the relationship between the agency and other institutions like the ABA. “CADE has a history with the ABA. And this cooperation, that not only CADE but the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) has with the ABA, increases the importance of the Competition Law in Brazil and Latin America”, he said.

Director Schneider also mentioned how CADE fosters collaboration in case assessment and discussions on topics relevant to the country and the world. “CADE has always attached immense importance to international cooperation in a practical manner in the analysis of its cases and, looking at this event, I realise that this tradition is maintained,” he stated.

The head of the International Unit of CADE, Bruna Pamplona de Queiroz, moderated the first panel in which the participants discussed recent international cooperation and convergence efforts and the long-standing relationship between CADE and the ABA. The debate included the presence of Hartmut Schneider and Randall Tritell, the former director of the International Office of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The second panel was on competition, consumer protection, and privacy in technology markets. The superintendent-general of CADE, Alexandre Barreto, moderated the debate that included the attorney General at CADE and the director of the Brazilian authority for data protection (ANPD), Juliana Oliveira Domingues and Miriam Winner, respectively, and lawyers Eduardo Frade and Marcella Matiuzzo.

The third panel discussed digital trends and merger control. The vice president of the Global Competition and Regulatory Policy, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Kristian Katona, moderated the debate that counted with the participation of the assistant superintendent of CADE, Diogo Thomson, and lawyers Fabrício Almeida, Paola Pugliese, and Cristianne Zarzur.

American Bar Association (ABA)

ABA is an association of lawyers and students of Law in the United States responsible for advocacy control in the country. Amongst its activities is the definition of criteria for Law courses and the creation of a code of ethics for the profession. Nowadays, the association has more than 400,000 members.

The ABA’s Antitrust Law Section is one of the most important communities for professionals working with competition, consumer protection, and data privacy. In 2022, President Alexandre Cordeiro was appointed to join the council of the Antitrust Law Section as an honorary member, stressing how the international antitrust community thinks highly of CADE.