OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2010. Igor Artemyev, the Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) received officers of the US Embassy in Moscow and representatives of the US Department of Justice, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Both parties emphasized that progressive advancement of cooperation between competition authorities of Russia and the USA had a positively effect upon dissemination of information and better understanding of positions taken by our countries in antimonopoly policy.

Igor Artemyev pointed out effective work of Mr. Thomas Firestone, Resident Legal Adviser of the US Department of Justice to the US Embassy in Moscow, towards advancement of Russian - American relations in the field of antimonopoly policy and personally awarded him an Honorary Certificate of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (the Russian Federation) for vigorous efforts and considerable contribution to development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the antimonopoly authorities of Russia and the USA.

In his turn, Mr. Thomas Firestone thanked Igor Artemyev for the honor and stated that this event demonstrated a positive trend in development of bilateral Russian-American cooperation in competition policy and is beneficial for creating favorable trading and economic conditions for Russian and US companies.

The parties emphasized importance of bilateral work on the draft Action Plan on Cooperation 2010, within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Antitrust Cooperation between the FAS Russia and the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, signed in 2009. In particular, the Action Plan on Cooperation includes a seminar on antimonopoly law in July 2010, where American and Russian judges as well as FAS Russia's experts will be able to exchange best practices.
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Igor Artemyev expressed his hope that the US antimonopoly authorities will offer their legal and expert assessment and advice for developing the so-called "third antimonopoly package" in Russia in a similar way as it took place with the "second antimonopoly package".

Summing up the meeting, the parties expressed their readiness for further productive bilateral cooperation and agreed to continue the efforts towards effective interaction.

Reference:
The Russian antimonopoly authority has been engaged in cooperation with the US Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice since 1991. Throughout this period the parties have been continuously involved in technical assistance, held meetings of their representatives and organized joint seminars. Russia and USA also interact within the framework of international organizations, such as OECD, APEC, UNCTAD and ICN.

In November 2009, the FAS Russia's delegation, led by the Head of FAS Igor Artemyev, visited the USA and held negotiations with the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, of the US Department of Justice, Ms Christine Varney, and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Mr. Jon Leibowitz, as a result of which FAS signed the Memorandum of Understanding - a Framework Document for cooperation between FAS Russia, and US DoJ and FTC. On the basis of the Memorandum it will be possible to develop in the near future a new format for cooperation between Russian and American competition authorities aimed at promoting harmonization of the principles of competition policy and enforcement practice of the two countries and exchanging experience on the most important issues of competition development.