Statement of Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras Regarding the Release of the Antitrust Modernization Commission Report

I congratulate the Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) on the release of its report today. The report represents a three-year effort to review the U.S. antitrust laws, and the policies and practices of the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and to make recommendations as appropriate. I commend the AMC Commissioners for their service and commitment. I am gratified that FTC officials were able to contribute to the AMC’s work by testifying on a number of the topics that the AMC examined and by providing data and information as requested.

I am in the process of reviewing all of the AMC’s recommendations in detail. I can, at this time, commend the AMC for reaching consensus on certain core principles:

• The AMC endorsed free-market principles and recognized that free-market policies “have driven the success of the U.S. economy and will continue to fuel the investment and innovation that are essential to ensuring our continued welfare.”
  
  
• The AMC concluded that the state of the U.S. antitrust laws is “sound” and that U.S. antitrust policy has achieved an appropriate focus.
  
  
• The AMC concluded that consistent application of antitrust principles will ensure the effectiveness of the antitrust laws, and that new or different antitrust rules are not needed for the high technology sector or other “new economy” industries.

I look forward to carefully reviewing the report in depth and considering all of the AMC’s recommendations.