A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between India and the US to promote increased cooperation and communication among competition monitoring agencies in both countries.

“It will strengthen the already excellent relations among the US and Indian competition authorities by further facilitating cooperation on policy and enforcement matters,” Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Leibowitz said on Thursday after the signing of the MoU.

Besides Leibowitz, the MoU was signed by the Acting Assistant Attorney General, Joseph Wayland, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, the Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao, and on behalf of Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairman Ashok Chawla.

“We know that this memorandum of understanding will enhance that relationship in the years ahead, as we work together to ensure that markets are open and competitive by identifying and remedying anticompetitive behaviour,” Wayland said.

The MoU provides that the US antitrust agencies and Indian authorities will work to keep each other informed of significant competition policy and enforcement developments in their jurisdictions, and establishes a framework for technical cooperation.

It also recognises that when the US and Indian competition agencies are investigating related matters, it may be in their common interests to cooperate.

Establishing a framework for the US antitrust agencies and the Indian competition authorities to consult on matters of competition enforcement and policy, the MoU contemplates periodic meetings among officials to exchange information on policy and enforcement priorities.

The MoU is a framework for voluntary cooperation and will not change existing law in either country.

India adopted its modern competition law in 2002, and the law’s main provisions were put into effect between 2009 and 2011, an official US release said.

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