The States and Antitrust Law

U.S. antitrust laws are designed to bring the benefits of competition to consumers nationwide. To that end, policymakers, enforcers, and courts balance the risks and tradeoffs of over deterrence and under deterrence of anticompetitive conduct. The delicate balance of these federal policy and enforcement choices, however, may be disrupted (for better or worse) by divergent state law choices. The federal antitrust laws envision state interaction—inviting state attorneys general and private plaintiffs to bring federal claims—and do not preempt state law. Therefore, potential trends to expand the scope of some state antitrust, unfair competition, and consumer protection laws beyond current federal law may have far-reaching impact. This essay looks at the current interaction of state and federal antitrust and unfair competition laws and examines potential law revisions in various states.