New York (awp / dpa) – The American Chamber of Commerce issued three letters on Friday openly protesting against the practices of the competition authority, the FTC, under the aegis of its new president Lisa Khan, who strongly reaffirmed his intention to fight for consumers.
The organization representing the private sector denounces in particular the fact that the White House, which has made the fight against anti-competitive practices one of its priorities, seems to guide in part the policy of the FTC and other agencies supposed to be independent.
The Chamber also denounces the use by the FTC of a text authorizing it to address an entire sector, which could contradict the principle of prosecution on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to the protest letters, she filed 30 motions asking for details of how the FTC used certain rules and procedures.
“With the FTC in the process of waging a war on American businesses, the Chamber is fighting back to protect free enterprise, American competitiveness and economic growth,” said the boss of the employers’ organization, Suzanne Clark, in a statement.
Businesses already face inflation, supply chain problems and difficulty recruiting, which does not prevent the FTC “from engaging in over-regulation which increases uncertainty and threatens our fragile economic recovery, ”she regrets.
The FTC reacted sharply, in surprise that the House “declared” war “on the agency” in the wake of the announcement of new guidelines intended to step up the fight against white collar crime.
“We are not going to back down because lobbyists threaten us,” said Lindsay Kryzak, FTC public affairs officer. “We will continue to do our job and stand up for consumers, honest leaders, workers and entrepreneurs who deserve fair markets,” she added.
Lina Khan, a 32-year-old woman renowned for her hostility to monopolies on major technology platforms, took over as head of the institution in June.
Amazon and Facebook shortly after demanded that Ms Khan recuse herself from any antitrust cases that might involve them, criticizing her for her lack of impartiality.
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