Overview
On February 23, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (together, the "agencies") launched a Joint Public Inquiry seeking input on updated guidance addressing collaborations among competitors. These efforts are intended to build upon the Collaboration Among Competitors Guidelines issued in April 2000 ("2000 guidelines"), which the Biden Administration withdrew in December 2024.
In announcing the initiative, the FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson highlighted the impact of that withdrawal, stating that the prior administration's "11th hour" decision "left millions of businesses in the dark" as to how antitrust laws apply to competitor collaborations. The current public inquiry reflects a goal of providing clearer guidance on how the agencies will evaluate collaborative arrangements among competitors under antitrust law.
What the 2000 Guidelines Covered
The 2000 guidelines provided an analytical framework on how the agencies assess collaborations among businesses. Illustrative examples of "competitor collaborations" included production agreements, marketing collaborations, purchasing collaborations, and joint research and development efforts. The 2000 guidelines detailed how regulators weigh procompetitive benefits against anticompetitive harm for these collaborative efforts.
They also provided practical guidance on when collaborative agreements might raise competitive concerns, including when agreements may limit participants' independent decision-making or combine control or financial interests among competitors.
Importantly, the 2000 guidelines offered businesses a degree of predictability through articulated "antitrust safety zones," signaling circumstances under which the agencies were unlikely to challenge certain collaborations. Under the guidelines, the agencies would not challenge a competitor collaboration when the market shares of the collaboration and its participants collectively account for no more than twenty percent of each relevant market in which competition may be affected.
Why New Guidance May Look Different
Since the issuance of the 2000 guidelines, the economy, technology, and antitrust jurisprudence have evolved significantly. Against that backdrop, the agencies have stated that updated guidance is necessary to address how modern collaborations function in practice. Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi underscored this point, explaining that "procompetitive collaborations are not only permissible but also encouraged in a complex and dynamic economic environment." FTC Chairman Ferguson similarly observed that, "in an everchanging economy, businesses need transparency and predictability from enforcers more than ever…these times require the federal government to update its guidelines."
Topics Likely to Be Addressed in Updated Guidelines
The updated guidelines may address new types of competitor collaborations, joint ventures, and alliances. Topics that may be included in the update are:
- Joint licensing arrangements
- Conditional dealing with competitors
- New technologies such as those related to algorithmic pricing (dynamic pricing)
- Information and data sharing (consumer/customer information) efforts
- Joint employment of AI tools
- Collaborating on labor
- Environmental or sustainability alliances
- Supply chain considerations related to efficiency justifications
- Technological developments (ex: interoperability for information sharing)
The agencies will likely revisit the concept of "antitrust safety zones," which were a prominent feature of the 2000 guidelines and a key desire of the business community. The new guidelines may also address other high-profile issues such as sustainability, diversity, free speech, and algorithmic price-fixing.
Opportunities for Businesses and Trade Associations
The agencies have invited written comments from the public, with submissions due on April 24, 2026. Business, trade associations, and other industry groups that regularly engage in collaborative activity, or that sponsor benchmarking, standard-setting, or joint initiatives among competitors, are encouraged to consider submitting comments to help shape the contours of the updated guidance. If you are interested in submitting a comment, please reach out to the authors for assistance.
