Antitrust Overhaul

Posted by Social Science Research Network

Antitrust Overhaul

Richard M. Steuer (Mayer Brown LLP)

Abstract:      The time has come to begin a serious discussion of the overhaul of America’s antitrust statutes. Simpler and more contemporary language would make those statutes easier to comprehend and would foster harmonization with the competition laws of other jurisdictions. Proposals for a global competition law have been discussed repeatedly in the past but none is likely to be adopted anytime soon, if ever. A more realistic path to harmonization is for each country to streamline its own statutes, moving as far as it comfortably can in the direction of others. This article illustrates how the U.S. antitrust statutes can be rewritten, without changing the substance of the law. This would make them easier to understand both within the U.S. and abroad, facilitating compliance and harmonization with the statutes of other jurisdictions. The article also compares the illustration with statutes from several other jurisdictions around the world. An overhaul of America’s antitrust statutes will not happen overnight, but the author maintains that it is time to begin considering how best to bring those statutes into the 21st Century.