Antitrust Law

Antitrust laws are in place to shelter trade and commerce from price fixing and monopolies in order to allow competition to occur. The antitrust laws work to minimize a few people becoming very rich and powerful so that the public can benefit from having restraints on trade and commerce. By theory, markets operate the most efficiently when negotiation between a large number of sellers and buyers have access to information on products, services, and prices, which is why antitrust laws at the federal and state levels have been enacted.

In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed, the most important federal antitrust law. Antitrust laws have developed to promote free and open competition in every market. Currently, the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice are responsible for enforcing antitrust laws in order to promote market competition. The antitrust laws enacted are intended to benefit consumers with a low price maintained in conjunction with high quality.