The American Antitrust Institute has published a comprehensive report outlining its policy recommendations for the next administration.
Chapter One of the report - on Cartels - is particularly deserving of attention. AAI questions, for example, whether the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice has been unduly "indifferent or even hostile to private litigation."
"While it is not uncommon for the FTC to join with the state attorneys general in antitrust prosecutions, we are not aware of a single instance of such an alliance involving the Division and the 'private attorneys general.' On the contrary, we have heard many informal reports that when private suits are initiated, plaintiffs experience unnecessary delays and blockages initiated by the Division. Legal impediments are particularly severe in international cartel actions. We note that some courts have overriden concerns about comity and required foreign antitrust authorities to produce documents held abroad to plaintiffs in private suits. Yet, the Division typically resists turning over amnesty application documents." (48.)
We applaud the AAI's focus on the importance of constructive cooperation between the Antitrust Division and private actions, and echo the hope that the next administration will take steps to improve this working relationship - which will benefit consumers in this country and, in an era of increasingly international cartels, other countries as well.
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