Unlocking the Federal Trade Commission’s Advisory Opinions

16.04.2025

CeCo EE.UU

Rafael Parisi He is a Brazilian lawyer with a degree in Competition Law and International Trade. He previously was Chief of Staff at the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE). He holds a Master’s degree in Economics for Competition Law from King’s College, London, an LL.B. from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Fundação Getulio Vargas. He is an LL.M. candidate in Business and Finance Law from George Washington University, where he collaborates with the GWU Competition Law Center.

This paper studies the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Advisory Opinions and discusses how such procedure can be better used by the Commission itself and businesses to promote competition in the U.S. economy. Previous research demonstrates that other non-litigation mechanisms by the Commission, such as guidelines, have been powerful tools to the agency’s competition mandate. However, with a few exceptions, Advisory Opinions have been largely underused. The article analyzes examples of similar tools adopted by foreign antitrust agencies, including Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission, and Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense, and how they have become important for such countries’ competition policy system. The articles closes with takeaways and recommendations on how the Federal Trade Commission’s Advisory Opinions could benefit from procedural and scope changes, unlocking its full potential to promote competition in U.S. markets.

«Unlocking the potential of Advisory Opinions is particularly important at a time in which complying with the law is becoming increasingly complex for business. Advisory Opinions could provide much needed guidance on the application of antitrust principles in dynamic and evolving markets».