UK competition law landscape post-Brexit – the CMA’s role

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently published draft guidance on how its role, powers, and processes will operate once the transition period provided for by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement comes to an end, on 31 December 2020.

The CMA's guidance focuses on its role in merger control and antitrust enforcement, as the two areas which will be most significantly affected by the shift. The key difference in practice will be that the CMA's role and powers in respect of cases only initiated after 31 December 2020 will no longer be constrained by the jurisdiction of the European Commission under the EU competition system of which the United Kingdom has hitherto been part. Businesses will therefore be exposed to a greater extent than before to the possibility of parallel investigations by the UK and EU competition authorities.