Antitrust Acts

Antitrust acts are laws to scrutinize the mergers and acquisition activities and oversee that it does not lead to one player becoming too big among its peers so that it has the power to take up predatory business policies. It is also known as competition laws. One uses Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and the concentration ratio to gauge the concentration level. Certain ranges specify different actions to take by the antitrust bodies if the company’s Herfindahl-Hirschman Index falls in any of these ranges.

• Antitrust acts refer to the laws that analyze mergers and acquisition activities and manage that only lead to one player becoming smaller among its peers. 
• Antitrust acts are also known as competition laws. 
• In the U.S., the Sherman Act of 1890 was the first act in the antitrust domain. They combined it with the Clayton Act of 1914 and The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 to make antitrust laws comprehensive set.
• Antitrust Acts are three critical sections of the Clayton Act, three-quarters of the Sherman Act, and areas of Consumer Protection of the FTC Act.

In the U.S., the Sherman Act of 1890 was the first act in the antitrust domain and was combined with the Clayton Act of 1914 and The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 to form a comprehensive set of antitrust laws.

Sherman Act deals with market functioning and prohibitions of practices such as cartels or collusion, which hamper free competition by creating high barriers to entry. Further, it also prohibits the abuse of monopoly power. The Clayton Act deals with merger and acquisition transactions. Finally, the Federal Trade Commission Act has given laws under civil and criminal categories. The Federal Trade Commission Act deals with civil cases, and the Department of Justice takes up criminal cases.

As explained in the history section, the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act form the Antitrust Act in the U.S. However, different Antitrust acts exist in other parts of the world.

For example, the antitrust act in India is known as The Competition Act, 2002. The Competition Commission of India regulates after replacing the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969.

Similarly, in Canada, the law is again known as The Competition Act, governed by the Competition Bureau, which involves cases of civil and criminal nature, and the Competition Tribunal is the adjudicating body.

There are two enforcers of the antitrust laws in the U.S., Along with the Federal Tax Commission, the Federal government enforces, and the U.S. Department of Justice. In some cases, their roles and responsibilities overlap. However, in most cases, they segregate. Therefore, there is an interdepartmental discussion between the two enforcers to prevent double efforts before starting an investigation.

One important point is that only the U.S. Department of Justice can take up cases of criminal nature. So, if the Federal Tax Commission receives any such incident, it must transfer that to the Department of Justice. Further, the Federal Tax Commission focuses on high consumer spending sectors such as food, energy, healthcare, internet services, and computer technology within the civil segment.

#1 - Sherman Act has Three Sections:

• Section 1 prohibits those agreements which create a restraint on free trade. For example, price-fixing or refusing to deal.
• Section 2 forbids monopoly or attempts to monopolize.
• Section 3 extends Section 1 to U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

#2 - Three Important Sections of the Clayton Act are:

• Section 2 prohibits price discrimination that can reduce competition.
• Section 3 prohibits practices that exclude smaller firms from competing, such as predatory pricing.
• Section 7 prohibits the merger of the purchase of shares that reduces competition or can create a monopoly.

#3 - Sections of Consumer Protection of the Federal Tax Commission Act are:

• Section 5(a) deals with unfair and deceptive acts of commerce and those affecting commerce.
• Section 18 gives the trade regulation rule, which treats the violators of section 5(a).
• Section 45(a) prohibits unfair methods of competition that violate the Sherman Act and the Clayton act.

1. Keeps a Check on M&A Activities: If two very big firms file for a business combination, they will have to get approval from the antitrust authorities. It checks on mergers, which can create monopolies and are not in the best interest of the consumers.
2. Small Business Protection: Unfair practices such as predatory pricing, which force smaller businesses to get out of the industry, are checked. It maintains the supply of the product and healthy competition among the producers, keeping the price in the market competitive.
3. Market Efficiency: If monopolies are restricted, the firms produce at close to efficient levels of production, and therefore, lead to lower deadweight loss and higher consumer and producer surplus.

1. Delays M&A Activities: If two very big firms file for a business combination, they require approval from antitrust authorities. Such consent is only given when both firms are willing to give up some of their assets so that a monopoly is not created in the market, and the barriers to entry are not so great that no new firm can enter. Moreover, it is a time-consuming process. Therefore, prevents the firms from quickly benefiting from the synergies of the combination.
2. Additional Expense: The firms have to pay for the fee and charges of the antitrust application and approval process, which can be very high and do not guarantee approval and therefore is a sunk cost.

This article is a guide to Antitrust Acts definition. Here, we discuss the history of antitrust acts and examples and who enforces the law in the U.S., along with sections, advantages, and disadvantages. You can learn more about it from the following articles: -

• Markdown
• M&A Process
• Embezzlement
• Vicarious Liability