Antitrust Law in the United States of America

• Author: Ovidiu Maican
• Profession: Department of Law, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
• Pages: 81-87

Antitrust Law in the United States of America

Lecturer Ovidiu – Horia MAICAN

1

Abstract

United States antitrust law is a collection of federal and state government laws

that regulates the conduct and organization of business corporations, g enerally to

promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers. (the concep t is called competition

law in other English-speaking countries.) The main statutes are the Sherman Act 1890,

the Clayton Act 1914 and the Federal Trade Commission Act 1914. These acts restrict

the formation o f cartels, the mergers an d acquisitions that could substantially harm

competition. and the abuse of dominant position.

Keywords: United States of America, antitrust, federal.

JEL Classification: K 33

1. Introduction

European competition law is one of the areas of competence of the

European Union.

Competition law (antitrust as it is known in the United States)

is regulating the exercise of market power by large companies, governments or

other economic entities. EU competition policy was adopted in advance of

economic integration. There were introduced antitrust provisions with its

founding act, the Treaty of Rome. The competition policy of the European Union

is to prevent intervention by member governments that can distort the free market

by discriminating in favour of State companies or granting other aid to certain

companies in the public sector/private sector (State aids)

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.

In the field of competition law, politics is more important in the United

States. The heads of the regulatory bodies are politically appointed and their

budgets are voted by the U.S. Congress.

The activism of antitrust policies during the Clinton

Administration was replaced by a laxer vision during the Bush years.

1

Ovidiu-Horia Maican – Department of Law, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania,

ovidiuszm@yahoo.com

2

See Catalin-Silviu Sararu, State Aids that are Incompatible with the Internal Market in European

Court of Justice Case Law, in Catalin-Silviu Sararu, Studies of Business Law – Recent Develop-

ments and Perspectives, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2013, p. 47.