Antitrust Aspects of Transatlantic Investment

Abstract

As indicated by Mr. Fugate in the following article, there can be no question that foreign investment is welcome in the United States. The new products, new technology, and new competition accompanying such investment can only be a plus for the American economy. Our antitrust laws have the task of maintaining a competitive economy, free from unduly restrictive practices or market domination, and in a period when growing concentration of economic power within the United States is becoming a matter of increasing concern, this task would be made considerably easier by the introduction of new sources of competition from abroad. The procompetitive philosophy behind our antitrust laws has been given a great deal of credit for the vigorous, imaginative, and flexible business spirit in our country. Exclusionary or discriminatory business practices directed at foreign firms will be given no different treatment at the Antitrust Division or the Federal Trade Commission than when a U.S. firm is the victim. We have a duty to enforce the law with an even hand, and we, like other nations, will do everything we can to prevent deliberate violations of our law. In other words, in a very important sense, our antitrust laws are a distinct advantage to the foreign company doing business here. In my opinion, foreign companies considering U.S. investment are unduly concerned about the effects of the U.S. antitrust laws in regulating their business activities. Aside from exemptions for particular regulated segments such as railroads and public utilities, the antitrust laws cover industry generally in the United States and are based on the idea of business freedom, the very antithesis of regulation. While the antitrust laws are firmly enforced and apply both to the interstate and foreign commerce of the United States, they are well charted, and, if in doubt, the businessman and his lawyer