International

The FTC engages with competition and consumer protection agencies in other countries to halt deceptive and anticompetitive business practices that affect U.S. consumers. The FTC also works with international organizations to provide policy leadership, promotes sound approaches to common problems, and offers technical assistance to newer agencies.

The FTC’s Office of International Affairs directs the agency’s international activities for competition and consumer protection, which include:

• strengthening relationships with foreign competition and consumer protection agencies
• developing formal and informal arrangements and agreements with competition and consumer protection agencies around the world
• engaging in cooperative dialogues and submitting reports at international forums for competition and consumer protection
• helping agencies around the world develop and enhance their own competition and consumer protection programs
• sharing information with foreign law enforcement authorities through the U.S. Safe Web Act
• maintaining a robust International Fellows Program

The FTC also supports econsumer.gov, a project sponsored by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network ICPEN and consumer agencies in more than 35 countries. Consumers can use econsumer.gov to report cross-border complaints. Enforcement agencies can use those complaints to investigate fraud.

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FTC Report Cites Benefits of International Cooperation on Antitrust and Consumer Protection Enforcement

In February 2021, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report examining ways to enhance cooperation between the FTC and overseas competition and consumer protection authorities in order to maximize the effectiveness of the FTC’s enforcement efforts. The report cites expert testimony from hearings the Commission convened in March 2019, held in conjunction with the George Washington University’s Competition Law Center, which stressed the importance of obtaining and sharing information quickly and efficiently in cross-border antitrust investigations.

• Related Press Release: FTC Report Cites Benefits of International Cooperation On Antitrust and Consumer Protection Enforcement