Antitrust, Regulatory & Trade newsletter: your Q4 2025 update

Welcome to our quarterly newsletter where the Ashurst Antitrust, Regulatory and Trade Team recaps some of the key developments of Q4 2025.

This edition highlights:

• the new Australian merger control regime which entered into force on 1 January 2026. The regime is mandatory and suspensory for acquisitions that exceed specified thresholds or fall into certain designated classes. 
• the first investigations by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) using its new direct enforcement regime introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act). The initial investigations focus on online pricing and sales practices by eight companies in the secondary ticketing, driving schools, gyms and fitness and homeware retailers sectors.
• the CMA's updated guidance on its approach to remedies in merger cases. As widely anticipated following the CMA's Call for Evidence, and as seen in the draft guidance during the CMA's consultation, behavioural remedies look set to play a greater role in future merger cases, particularly following the CMA's removal of the presumption against behavioural remedies at phase 1.
• significant fines for luxury fashion brands for fixing the resale prices charged by independent retailers. Resale price maintenance (RPM) continues to be an enforcement priority for European competition regulators.

Merger control

1. CMA opens the door to behavioural remedies in merger cases

On 16 October 2025, the CMA launched a consultation on its approach to remedies in merger cases (see our October 2025 update), which follows the CMA's Mergers Charter and Call for Evidence published in March 2025 (see our March 2025 update). 

On 19 December 2025, the CMA published its revised guidance. The changes to the CMA's guidance incorporate the CMA's 4Ps framework into the merger remedies process. As widely anticipated following the CMA's Call for Evidence, behavioural remedies are expected to play a greater role in future merger cases, particularly following the CMA's removal of the presumption against behavioural remedies at phase 1. See here for further details.

2. CMA publishes updated guidance on UK merger procedure

On 28 October 2025, the CMA published its updated merger guidance on jurisdiction and procedure, which implements the CMA's '4Ps' strategic framework (of Pace, Predictability, Proportionality and Process) and seeks to ensure that merger control supports the UK Government's economic growth objective. The CMA has also published a new Merger Notice template and updated guidance on the CMA's mergers intelligence function. The updated guidance follows the CMA's new Mergers Charter in March 2025 (see our March 2025 update) and a public consultation on the draft guidance between 20 June and 1 August 2025 (see our July 2025 update).

The guidance on the material influence and share of supply jurisdictional statutory tests, which the CMA frequently applies in merger control investigations, has been updated to clarify the CMA's approach. The UK Government separately confirmed in October 2025 that it plans to launch a consultation "in the coming weeks" proposing legislative changes to these tests.

The CMA has also stated it will consider adopting a "wait and see" approach to global transactions, noting it is less likely to open investigations where markets are global and the transaction is subject to review by other regulators, or where remedies agreed in other jurisdictions would be likely to address any competition concerns in the UK. See here for our overview.

3. Less than 1 month to go! Waiver details and important updates for the new Australian merger regime

The core of the merger control regime commenced on 1 January 2026. The Treasury has finalised the waiver notification form for the new merger regime. Requests for waivers have been available from 1 January 2026. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released interim guidance on waivers, including the types of transactions that may be eligible for a waiver and how it will conduct the review. Importantly, waiver applications will largely be considered on the papers, and the ACCC will not engage with third parties (although all waiver applications will be listed on the ACCC's public register). New thresholds which will require acquisitions to be notified even where parties do not acquire control will not commence until 1 April 2026.

Revised thresholds apply to asset acquisitions from 1 January to 31 March 2026 and further revised thresholds will apply from 1 April 2026. See here for our latest update and our Australian merger reform hub for additional materials.

Antitrust

1. The high price of luxury fashion: €157 million fines for RPM

On 14 October 2025, the European Commission fined Gucci, Chloé and Loewe a total of EUR 157 million for breaching competition law by fixing the resale prices charged by independent retailers. See our overview here. 

All retailers should be free to set their own prices. RPM arises where an independent retailer is instructed by its supplier to sell products at a fixed or minimum resale price. Maximum or recommended prices are permitted, provided that these do not act as fixed or minimum prices in practice. Suppliers of luxury goods can impose certain restrictions on retailers within a selective distribution system where the objective is to preserve the luxury image of those goods. However, this is unlikely to extend to RPM restrictions, particularly where the supplier also competes directly with retailers through its own sales channels.

RPM, both online and in bricks-and-mortar stores, continues to be an enforcement priority for European competition regulators, illustrated by these latest fines on leading Italian, French and Spanish luxury brands. 

2. The Winner Takes It All? CMA updates leniency policy

On 28 October 2025, the CMA published its updated guidance on 'Applications for leniency and no-action in cartel cases' (CMA210), which reflects changes to the CMA's leniency policy since 2013. 

The CMA has updated its leniency programme to make applications for Type A immunity (applications for leniency before the CMA has started to investigate) more attractive relative to Type B and Type C leniency applications (applications for leniency after the CMA has started an investigation or already has sufficient information to establish the existence of cartel activity). Type B applicants can no longer receive complete immunity from financial penalties (which will be available only for Type A applicants). The CMA has also clarified that the maximum discounts from financial penalties for Type B and Type C applicants are unlikely to exceed 75% and 50% (respectively). Individuals employed by Type B and Type C applicants will now receive immunity from Competition Disqualification Orders (CDOs) only at the CMA's discretion and will rarely receive immunity from criminal prosecution.

The requirement for leniency applicants to admit to cartel conduct is now required only when the leniency agreement is signed (rather than at the beginning of the leniency process). The definition of cartel activity has been expanded to include further examples based on recent case law developments. See our November 2025 update.

3. CAT issues new Practice Direction on expert evidence

On 2 December 2025, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) published a new Practice Direction in relation to expert evidence. The Practice Direction implements changes to improve efficiency and efficacy. 

The Practice Direction covers a number of key issues based on recent cases, including: (i) more active case management, (ii) an emphasis of experts' independence, (iii) improving the readability of expert reports and (iv) clear expectations of experts' approaches.

Whilst it remains to be seen how the Practice Direction will be implemented in individual cases, it provides welcome guidance in how expert evidence should be adduced. It is clear that the CAT is unhappy with how expert evidence in some recent cases has ballooned in volume and complexity and experts will be under significant pressure to ensure their evidence is concise, transparent and fair-minded. See our December 2025 update.

Consumer

1. Liftoff for the CMA's direct consumer enforcement powers

On 18 November 2025, the CMA opened its first consumer enforcement investigations under the new direct enforcement regime introduced by the DMCC Act. The focus of these initial investigations is on online pricing and sales practices (including the use of drip pricing and presentation of mandatory fees, time-limited promotional sales, and pre-selected default options) by eight companies in the secondary ticketing, driving schools, gyms and fitness and homeware retailers sectors. Under the new regime, the CMA has the power to impose penalties of up to 10% of a company's global turnover or £300,000 (whichever is greater) for breaches of consumer protection law.

The CMA has separately issued 100 advisory letters to businesses across the following sectors: holiday and package travel, rail, bus and coach travel, parking and airport parking, live event tickets, cinema tickets, food and drink delivery services, letter and parcel delivery, and fashion.

Alongside its enforcement activity, the CMA published revised guidance on price transparency.

See our November 2025 update.

2. Play fair: Unfair trading practices ban coming in 2026

In Australia, the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments have agreed to proceed with an economy wide ban on unfair trading practices. The draft legislation will be released for consultation in early 2026 and will include a general prohibition on "practices that manipulate consumer decision making and cause harm", with specific focus on subscription traps and drip pricing. The protections will apply to consumers and may also extend to small businesses.

The new prohibition(s) will sit alongside existing prohibitions on misleading or deceptive conduct (s18), making false and misleading representations (s29), unconscionable conduct (s21), and unfair contract terms (s23), as well as the consumer guarantees regime (which will also be bolstered next year). The new prohibition(s) will attract the significant maximum penalties available under the Australian Consumer Law (up to AUD 50 million per breach), and will be enforceable by the ACCC, fair trading bodies of any State or Territory, and private litigants. 

See here for our overview.

Trade

1. The European Commission proposes new amendments to the EUDR

On 21 October 2025, the European Commission released its proposal to amend the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products – Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (EUDR). The proposal follows an announcement by the EU Commissioner for the Environment regarding a possible one-year postponement to the EUDR's implementation, reportedly due to IT issues, after the regulation had already been delayed just one year ago. 

With these new targeted amendments, the European Commission aims to streamline and reduce the EUDR's reporting requirements, while maintaining its fundamental objective of preventing deforestation. However, the proposal goes beyond the postponement initially announced by the EU Commissioner, and not only intervenes to ensure the proper functioning of the IT system, but also introduces some changes to simplify the EUDR with the intention of alleviating the administrative burden on supply chain actors. See our October 2025 update for an overview of the key changes.

2. Overview of the EU's 19th sanction package

On 23 October 2025, the EU adopted its long-awaited 19th package of sanctions against Russia. The new package introduces both sectoral and individual restrictive measures, primarily aimed at Russia’s energy and financial sectors. It combines stricter trade controls, additional service restrictions, transaction bans, and reinforced financial sanctions, while further expanding the use of list-based designations across all sectors. Certain measures are also reflected in the sanctions regime against Belarus. See our overview here.