Evaluating antitrust legislation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluating antitrust legislation - Essay Example The origin of Anti Trust Law lies in the reaction to public outcry over the corporate monopolies that dominated US manufacturing and mining. The trusts formed by mergers and mutual understandings used to control prices according to their profit needs. This practice has come to an end by the enacting and executing this act. In the 20th century President Theodore Roosevelt and his successor President William Howard Taft, responded to public criticism over the rapid merger of industries by pursuing more vigorous legal action, and steady prosecution. This brought the downfall of monopoly in the manufacturing resulting in price fall. The Clayton law in 1914 declared price discrimination, tying and exclusive-dealing contracts, corporate mergers and interlocking directorates as illegal but not criminal. The Robinson-Patman Act, passed by US congress in 1936 explicitly forbade forms of price discrimination, in order to protect small producers from extinction due to competition. From 1937 to 1940 Roosevelt's effort to cope with economic decline brought federal antitrust enforcement back. After that Congress added its last piece of important legislation in 1950 with the Celler-Kefauver anti merger act. This made the businesses unable to target the assets of the rivals also in addition to previous forbidding of anti competitive stock purchases. A loop hole was plugged.