Antitrust Division Applauds Recognition of Attorney-Client Privilege by Mexico's Competition Agency

On Sept. 30, Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) issued guidelines setting forth the agency’s procedures for treatment of attorney-client communications.  Previously there had been no specific recognition of attorney-client privilege in Mexico.  Protection of privileged material is an essential element of procedural fairness that is included both in the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement’s (USMCA’s) Competition Policy Chapter and in the Framework on Competition Agency Procedures (CAP) that the United States and over 60 other jurisdictions launched in May at the annual multilateral conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) in Cartagena, Colombia.  The Antitrust Division applauds COFECE’s guidelines, issued after a public consultation. 

“These guidelines will add to the due process rights of all firms operating in Mexico and help to harmonize the antitrust enforcement environment in North America,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “They will also encourage firms to seek legal advice and thus contribute to a more effective compliance regime in Mexico.”