Washington - The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust [...]
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5/22/2008
House Passes Bill to Sue OPEC Over Oil Prices
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“The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.”
The House of Representatives does not seem to be aware that price-fixing in the Sherman US Antitrust Act is a per se offense.
No defense resting on claims that the prices fixed are reasonable will succeed.
The opposite of the per se-approach is the rule of reason which says that only combinations and contracts unreasonably restraining trade are subject to actions under the anti-trust laws.
The bill authorizing the lawsuit against OPEC for price-fixing would in part amend the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
It provides in part that the cartel would be prohibited when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, substantial, and REASONABLY FORESEEABLE EFFECT [emphasis mine] […] in the United States.
This is the rule of reason for oil-price-fixing.
The rule of reason, replacing the per se-approach, in oil-price-fixing cases is the first step towards the complete repeal of the immoral antitrust laws.
For more see my Honest Money-blog.
In Defense of OPEC
May 22nd, 2008 by Ivo Cerckel
bphouse.com/blaze/honest_money/
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