Germany: Trade Regulation & Practices

The European Commission has published its review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), addressing widespread concerns about the regime's disproportionate compliance burden on M&A deals and procurement procedures. While the EC maintains the instrument is "fit for purpose," stakeholders and independent studies reveal significant administrative challenges, with only 1% of notified M&A deals warranting in-depth review and proposed reforms falling short of the fundamental redesign many had requested.

On March 9, 2017 the German Federal Parliament passed the ninth amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen).

This week, the BKartA imposed a fine of approx. € 1 million for price fixing and customer allocation against five manufacturers as well as a wholesaler of paper plates.