Our Curious Amalgam American Bar Association

In April 2024, the Our Curious Amalgam team interviewed international competition law regulators while on site at the ABA Antitrust Law Section's Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. In this episode, Anora Wang talks to Samuel Chan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Competition Commission, and Commissioner Reiko Aoki of the Japan Fair Trade Commission. Listen to what they had to say about their respective agencies' major achievements of the past year and current and future enforcement priorities, while also getting to know them a little better as people.
With special guests:
Samuel Chan, BBS, JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Competition Commission and Reiko Aoki, Commissioner, Japan Fair Trade Commission
Related Links:
Hong Kong Competition Commission
Educational short videos produced by the Hong Kong Competition Commission
Japan Fair Trade Commission
Hosted by:
Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

The 2024 edition of the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with competition law regulators from around the world. While on site at the meeting, we sat down with several of them to discuss their enforcement priorities and other issues, while also getting to know them a little better as people. This episode features interviews conducted by three of our OCA hosts. First, Anora Wang discovers what's happening in France with Benoît Cœuré, the president of the French Competition Authority. Next, Jeny Maier speaks with Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, the president of the Portugese Competition Authority, about his agency's competition enforcement priorities, as well as sightseeing recommendations for Jeny's upcoming visit to Portugal. And finally, Barry Nigro hears about what's going on in Poland with Martyna Derszniak-Noirjean Director of the International Cooperation Office of the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
With special guests:
Benoît Cœuré, President, Autorité de la concurrence (France), Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, President, Autoridade da Concorrência (Portugal), and Martyna Derszniak-Noirjean, Director, International Cooperation Office, Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (Poland)
Related Links:
Autorité de la concurrence (France)
Autoridade da Concorrência (Portugal)
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (Poland)
Hosted by:
Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, Jeny Maier, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP, and Barry Nigro, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

The 2024 Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with competition law enforcers from around the world. In this episode, host Matthew Hall asks Olivier Guersent, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission (DG COMP), about what’s been happening in the European Union since we interviewed him at the 2023 Spring Meeting. Listen and learn about DG COMP’s current and recent work and what competition law policy and enforcement trends the Director-General sees on the horizon.
With special guest:
Olivier Guersent, Director-General, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Related Links:
European Commission DG COMP website
2023 Spring Meeting interview with Olivier Guersent
2022 Spring Meeting interview with Olivier Guersent


Hosted by:
Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP

The UN General Assembly has entrusted UNCTAD (now rebranded as UN Trade and Development) to be the focal point within the UN on competition and consumer protection issues. How does UN Trade and Development implement this role? Teresa Moreira, Head of the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch (CCPB) at UN Trade and Development, joins Alicia Downey and Matthew Hall to discuss the work of the CCPB, including its focus on developing countries and its working groups and specific projects. Listen to this episode to learn more about UN Trade and Development's work promoting, reinforcing and advising on competition and consumer protection law and policies in support of its overall goal to help developing countries meet the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
With special guest:
Teresa Moreira, Head, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Related Links:
UNCTAD website
Competition and Consumer Protection Branch website
Global competition law and policy approaches to digital markets (March 2024)
Consumer dispute resolution in the world (March 2024)
UNCTAD model law on competition after 30 years: some reflections (Feb 2024)


Hosted by:
Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP

Many practitioners wonder what it would be like to be an academic, diving deeply into the leading international legal and policy issues at the forefront of antitrust and competition law. But what does an academic researcher do all day? Natalia Moreno Belloso, one of the ABA Antitrust Law Section's International Scholars-in-Residence, joins Jeny Maier and Anora Wang to discuss her research on conflicts between competition values and non-competition values in digital markets. Listen to this episode if you want to learn more about the life of an academic researcher and the latest trends in digital market regulation.
With special guest:
Natalia Moreno Belloso, European University Institute
Related Links:
The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA): A Competition Hand in a Regulatory Glove
Hosted by:
Jeny Maier, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

On March 21, 2024, the United States Department of Justice and sixteen Attorneys General sued Apple, alleging that “Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs for consumers and developers.” In other words, many of the DOJ and AGs’ allegations boil down to lock in - that is that the features chosen by Apple lock in developers and users to stay in Apple’s ecosystem by making it harder to switch or jump between platforms. We discuss the case and the claims advanced, and what it might mean for antitrust enforcement, tech, and consumer experiences.
With special guest:
Stephen Calkins, Professor of Law, Wayne State University Law School
Related Links:
U.S. v. Apple Complaint
Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter Remarks on Complaint
Steve Calkins' Guide to Classical Music Concerts
Hosted by:
Jana Seidl, Baker Botts LLP and Barry Nigro, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP