Capitol Forum

Commissioner Noah Phillips downplayed the Federal Trade Commission’s potential use of Section 2 of the Sherman Act to block anticompetitive mergers, highlighting its limitations compared with Clayton Act Section 7, the statute under which US antitrust enforcers typically challenge deals. For Section 2 to be effective in challenging a merger, the agency must show the acquiring company is overwhelmingly dominant.  “You need to have a monopolist,” Commissioner Phillips said.