Law Commons^™

District Courts Versus The Usitc: Considering Exclusionary Relief For F/Rand-Encumbered Standard-Essential Patents, Helen H. Ji

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Technological standards allow manufacturers and consumers to rely upon these agreed-upon basic systems to facilitate sales and further invention. However, where these standards involved patented technology, the process of standard-setting raises many concerns at the intersection of antitrust and patent law. As patent holders advocate for their patents to become part of technological standards, how should courts police this activity to prevent patent holdup and other anti-competitive practices? This Note explores the differing approaches to remedies employed by the United States International Trade Commission and the United States District Courts where standard-essential patents are infringed. This Note further proposes that …

Tarrification Of The Coastwise Trade Laws, Keith E. Diggs

Michigan Law Review

The coastwise trade laws prohibit foreign vessels and mariners from transporting goods or passengers between American ports. These anticompetitive laws punish American producers and consumers yet barely sustain a dwindling merchant marine. Every attempt to repeal the laws encounters insurmountable political resistance. Reformers of the coastwise trade laws, then, should instead try to convert the prohibition on foreign involvement into a tariff.

Corporate Taxation And International Charter Competition, Mitchell A. Kane, Edward B. Rock

Michigan Law Review

Corporate charter competition has become an increasingly international phenomenon. The thesis of this Article is that this development in corporate law requires a greater focus on corporate tax law. We first demonstrate how a tax system's capacity to distort the international charter market depends both upon its approach to determining corporate location and upon the extent to which it taxes foreign source corporate profits. We also show, however, that it is not possible to remove all distortions through modifications to the tax system alone. We present instead two alternative methods for preserving an international charter market. The first-best solution involves …

Like Father, Like Son: A Progeny Of The Antidumping Model For The Shipbuilding Industry, Seung Wha Chang

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article is organized in the following manner: Part II introduces the OECD Secretariat's proposed pricing mechanisms based on the IPC antidumping model, while Part III provides for a critical evaluation of the proposed pricing mechanisms. First, Part III explains the reasons why the IPC antidumping model does not fit the shipbuilding industry due to the unique characteristic of the shipbuilding market. This Part thereafter demonstrates why the antidumping regime, as well as the proposed pricing mechanism, cannot be justified under the competition policy standards. While criticizing defenses for the current antidumping regime, Part III demonstrates why the proposed pricing …

The New Rules On Cross-Border Tender And Exchange Offers, Business Combinations And Rights Offerings: Competition Or Harmonization?, Julian T. Perlmutter

Michigan Journal of International Law

This note introduces the Cross-Border Rules in the context of the rapidly changing securities markets and highly competitive regulatory systems noted above. It addresses the elements and impact of internationalization on cross-border tender offers and the modern U.S. regulatory response. The SEC has avoided any public moves to harmonize the U.S. system with those of other major capital markets and has instead made incremental changes aimed at maintaining the system's perceived strengths. The Cross-Border Rules represent a somewhat ungainly attempt to placate U.S. investors by bending the Williams Act tender offer rules using exemptions for certain transactions.

Trade Policy Harmonization: Too Much Of A Good Thing?, Alexander W. Sierck

Michigan Journal of International Law

Review of Fair Trade and Harmonization: Prerequisites for Free Trade? by Jagdish N. Bhagwati & Robert E. Hudec

Competition And Antitrust Law In Central Europe: Poland, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, And Hungary, Carolyn Brezezinski

Michigan Journal of International Law

First, this article briefly introduces the antimonopoly laws and competition authorities created in the four post-communist Central European countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Second, this article outlines the obligations and harmonization programs of the competition authorities under the Europe Agreements recently signed by each country. Third, this article assesses the role and importance of the antimonopoly laws and competition authorities in the post-socialist economic reforms currently underway. Fourth, this article describes proposals to amend the antimonopoly laws based on the initial period of their implementation. Finally, this article attempts to assess the post-reform role of both …

Bringing Down Private Trade Barriers- An Assessment Of The United States' Unilateral Options: Section 301 Of The 1974 Trade Act And Extraterritorial Applications Of U.S. Antitrust Law, Aubry D. Smith

Michigan Journal of International Law

This note examines how the antitrust and trade law options operate, with the two-fold purpose of providing some idea of their potential effectiveness and also suggesting what limitations, if any, should be placed on their use. Parts I and II analyze the mechanics of applying the antitrust and Section 301 remedies to eliminate foreign trade-restrictive business practices. In light of this discussion of how the two processes work, Part III considers whether they are likely to get out of control and suggests how they ought to be restrained. Part III finds that Section 301 is subject to a number of …

(Why) Should Nations Utilize Antidumping Measures?, Ross Denton

Michigan Journal of International Law

The purpose of this paper is to present arguments that may provide support for the continuation of the international antidumping regime, and in certain measure, for the continuation of national antidumping rules. It steers an often difficult course between advocating tighter controls on the use of antidumping actions as protectionist measures, and their use to prevent potentially harmful dumping. However, this paper does not attempt to define how to produce a rational antidumping-type system, but merely provides some standards for assessing whether that system is sensible.

Third World Trade Partnership: Supranational Authority Vs. National Extraterritorial Antitrust--A Plea For "Harmonized" Regionalism, Wolfgang Fikentscher

Michigan Law Review

That "Third World countries" should receive the assistance of the "industrialized nations" in increasing the level of their economic development is a matter beyond dispute. Yet the years following the "economic decade" of the 1970's have made apparent a crisis in the concepts underlying this philosophy of Third World assistance. The nature of this crisis has not yet been fully ascertained, and the following text does not undertake that task. Rather, it starts from the general feeling among experts involved in one way or another with "development aid" that the paths so far followed and the methods so far applied …

A New Export Policy: The Foreign Sales Corporation And State Unitary Taxation Of Foreign Source Income, Reed D. Rubinstein

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this note will examine the structure of the FSC, and analyze its potential benefits in light of the Domestic International Sales Corporation (DISC) tax incentive. Part II discusses the use of the unitary tax as a disincentive to direct foreign investment by U.S. corporations. Finally, Part III outlines the new export policy based upon a combination of the FSC export incentive and state unitary taxation of foreign-source income. If implemented, this policy would increase export production and discourage direct foreign investment, thereby making a substantial contribution to U.S. economic well-being.

Building The Case For Industrial Strategy, David E, Bonior

Michigan Journal of International Law

The argument for an industrial strategy begins with the failures of present policies. The indictment is not concerned with the relative simplicity or elegance of competing economic theories but with actual results in the world marketplace. The case for an industrial strategy is not primarily about compassion, or about full employment, or even about economic growth. While we desperately need a compassionate economic policy, full employment, and sustained economic growth, these are goals. The industrial policy debate is not a debate about goals, but means. The argument rests on the premise that the old means must be changed because the …

A Labor View Of Industrial Policy, Henry B. Schechter

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article discusses the following topics: secular economic decline, factors in the loss of U.S. competitive position, foreign industrial policies, a labor-endorsed legislative proposal for an industrial policy, and supplementary measures that are required for a successful industrial policy.

Attacking The Trade Deficit, Dennis Unkovic

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the United States (U.S.), policy planning for industrial development is not new. The federal government currently formulates and implements policies designed to foster the growth of the industrial sector. The current debate should not focus on the merits of a comprehensive national industrial policy over federal non-involvement, rather it should address the degree to which the federal government should become involved in specific areas affecting industrial development. This article will analyze the appropriate role for the federal government in its efforts to eliminate the current U.S. balance of trade deficit.

Reforming American Antitrust In Foreign Commerce, James A. Rahl

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Antitrust and American Business Abroad (Second Edition) by James R. Atwood and Kingman Brewster

Commercial Treaties And Foreign Companies: The Mutually Reinforcing Principles Of Remedial Antitrust And National Treatment, Alan Van Kampen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that greater appreciation for the nature and importance of national treatment obligations will compel tribunals fashioning antitrust relief to provide more suitably for foreign firms, and thus avoid straining international trade relations. Moreover, because antitrust relief and national treatment objectives are mutually reinforcing, greater recognition of national treatment requirements should improve remedial orders from the standpoint of antitrust economics. Meeting national treatment requirements should place little added burden on the antitrust tribunal; it must merely extend impartial economic analysis to all market suppliers, not just domestic firms.

This Note explores methods to ensure that antitrust relief orders …

Introduction: Transnational Corporate Concentration-The Issues, Thomas E. Kauper

Michigan Journal of International Law

Competition policy in the United States, particularly reflected in antitrust policy, in recent years has focused on corporate structure. To some, this emphasis simply reflects a belief in a close correlation between corporate structure and behavior. A single firm monopoly inevitably will restrict output and raise prices above levels that would prevail under competition conditions, distorting allocative efficiency. The behavioral pattern is a direct consequence of structure. Many believe that high corporate concentration, even short of single firm monopoly, is at least conducive to, if not a cause of, monopolistic behavior. Some also view high corporate concentration, and the aggregation …

The "Economic" Analysis Of Transnational Mergers, William James Adams

Michigan Journal of International Law

No congregation of lawyers can be considered complete without a token economist. The role of the economist consists of describing the economic mode of analyzing the legal problem under consideration. Unfortunately from the standpoint of the token, economists rarely agree on criteria appropriate for the appraisal of economic phenomena. With respect to transnational corporate mergers, four modes of analysis may be described legitimately as economic.

United Kingdom Regulation Of Transnational Corporate Concentration, J. Denys Gribbin

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article begins by describing the United Kingdom's policy toward outward and inward direct investment and then sets out the essentials of the competition laws that are among the major, nondiscriminatory regulatory mechanisms that affect corporate behavior and planning. The article also analyzes the development of competition policy as a microeconomic instrument along with its application to monopoly, oligopoly, and cartels involving transnational corporations. Competition policy, except for cartels, is shown to be relatively benign toward mergers until recently, and with respect to monopoly and oligopoly has sought remedies in regulation of prices and behavior rather than through structural change. …

Sherman Act Applications To Predation By Controlled Economy Enterprises Marketing In The United States: Departures From Mechanical Formulae, Deborah M. Levy

Michigan Journal of International Law

In a reproachful dissent in United States v. Columbia Steel, the late Justice Douglas sought to remind his brethren what the antitrust laws of the United States are all about: [A]ll power tends to develop into a government in itself. Power that controls the economy should be in the hands of elected representatives of the people, not in the hands of an industrial oligarchy. Industrial power should be decentralized.... That is the philosophy and the command of the Sherman Act.

Reflections On Recent Oecd Activities: Regulation Of Multinational Corporate Conduct And Structure, Kurt Stockmann

Michigan Journal of International Law

In recent, years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has repeatedly addressed, in a variety of forms, the problem of transnational corporate concentration. In the field of restrictive business practices, it has made suggestions on specific antitrust problems, issued council recommendations, and promulgated the 1976 Concil Guidelines for multinational enterprises. Not surprisingly for an organization that adheres to the principle of unanimity and, consequently, is governed by the law of the smallest common denominator, these efforts have thus far focused more on procedure than on substance. Even where quasisubstantive rules have been adopted, such as in competition guideline …

Canadian Merger Policy And Its International Implications, Eric K. Gressman

Michigan Journal of International Law

The implications of Canadian merger policy are of deep concern to U.S. and other foreign investors who have invested or are considering investing in Canada. U.S. interests own 60 percent of Canada's manufacturing industry. In 1978, approximately 250 mergers in Canada involved a foreign-owned or foreign-controlled buyer (usually U.S.). Therefore, it is not surprising that Canada's merger policy is no less important to the decisions of foreign investors in Canada than the Justice Department's policies are to domestic investors in the United States. At the same time, the Canadian government and public are concerned with their merger policy as a …

Regulation Of Concentration Through Merger Control: Germany's Continuing Efforts, Kurt Stockmann

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Federal Republic of Germany's Law Against Restraints on Competition (the ARC), establishes an extensive regime for regulating market-dominating enterprises. Therefore, large corporations, both national and multinational, are the subject of particular scrutiny in the Federal Republic. Rather than identify and address all the provisions pertinent to corporate concentration (a task whose tedium would be matched only by its enormity), this analysis will undertake three tasks: (1) briefly describe the general scope of West German merger law, (2) discuss the application of the law to cases of transnational concentration, and (3) explain the proposed Fourth Amendment to the ARC as …

Regulating Multinational Corporate Concentration-The European Economic Community, John Temple Lang

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the purpose of this article to discuss the policies and goals of the efforts of the European Communities to regulate multinational corporate concentration. For reasons that will become clear in the course of the article, it is necessary to start by outlining the means available to the European Communities, both presently and potentially, to promote these policies. It is not possible to see what those policies might be or how they are likely to develop without understanding the practical implications of the various legal rules on which the Community might rely in the future. This article does not …

Proposals For Change In The Administration Of The Antidumping Act, Stephen L. Gibson

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article suggests changes that might be made in the administration of the existing Act to improve the efficiency of investigations and the fairness of determinations under the Act in its present form. Most of these suggestions are addressed to the Treasury Department's fair value investigation, with only a few comments on the International Trade Commission injury investigation phase. The ITC has developed a framework for injury investigations that appears generally to be both workable and acceptable to interested parties. Treasury's fair value investigation, on the other hand, has tended to be more controversial. This stems in part from the …

The Standard Of Injury In The Resolution Of Antidumping Disputes, Edward J. Krauland

Michigan Journal of International Law

When a private party files a dumping complaint, the Antidumping Act of 1921 provides a two-step procedure for examining an alleged infraction by a foreign exporter. First, the Department of the Treasury must determine if imports are being marketed within the United States at less than fair value (hereinafter LTFV). If Treasury makes an affirmative determination, the International Trade Commission (ITC) must then determine if a United States industry is being injured, is likely to be injured, or is prevented from being established by reason of the LTFV sales. If any of these forms of injury is found, an antidumping …

The Treatment Of Products From State-Controlled Economies Under The United States Antidumping Law, Stephanie M. Smith

Michigan Journal of International Law

When the Antidumping Act of 1921 was enacted, the mechanics of its application to products of state-controlled economies (hereinafter SCES) understandably was not treated. There was only one state-controlled economy in existence in 1921, and its trade with the United States was relatively insignificant. Recently, however, trade with SCEs has been increasing, and continued growth is likely. United States imports from SCEs in 1977 increased to $1,686 million from a volume of $50 million in 1951. This larger volume of trade necessitates a reassessment of the way in which the problems of interaction with these completely different economies are handled.

Import Restraints And Industrial Performance: The Dilemma Of Protectionism, Walter Adams

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the thesis of this article that the remedies for the import problem-- quotas, orderly marketing agreements, trigger price systems, and the like-do not provide adequate mechanisms for insuring acceptable industry performance or protecting the public interest. Instead of compelling--or even promoting-the kind of structural and behavioral changes which are imperative if an industry is to overcome its competitive infirmities, these protectionist devices, more often than not, are likely to have precisely the opposite effect, i.e., perpetuate the very infirmities that caused the industry's plight to begin with. In short, an ailing organism is not prepared for the …

The Antidumping Law: Repeal It Or Revise It, John J. Barceló Iii

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article concentrates only on American antidumping, safeguard, and antitrust laws. The analysis, however, should have general application to any country in the western trading world. All such countries have antidumping and safeguard provisions patterned along the general guidelines in Articles VI and XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GAIT). Any country which does not provide protection against predatory pricing through a general antitrust law might resort to a revised antidumping law aimed only at predatory dumping.

The Antidumping Act: Proposals For Change, Noel Hemmendinger

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Antidumping Act is in great trouble. Most of its troubles flow from a basic misconception about the role of an antidumping proceeding. A dumping case is sometimes looked on as analogous to private party litigation in which domestic producers seek to vindicate "rights" being injured by foreign exporters. In another view, it is sometimes regarded as analogous to a criminal proceeding in which the United States condemns and punishes certain methods of foreign price competition as "unfair." In my view, it is preferable to look at an antidumping proceeding as a method of resolving a conflict in the execution …