Competition Commission

“ The Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce report endorsing the new version of the commission bill made this point explicitly: "One of the most important provisions of the bill is that which declares unfair competition in commerce to be unlawful, and empowers the commission to prevent corporations from using unfair methods of competition in commerce by orders issued after hearing, restraining, and prohibiting unfair methods of competition, which orders are enforceable in the courts. ”

“ The Commission for Protection of Competition is the competent misdemeanour body for the misdemeanours determined with the provisions of this Law. (3) The Commission for Protection of Competition shall determine rules and measures for the protection of competition and measures for the establishment of effective competition. (4) The Commission for Protection of Competition shall provide opinion upon draft laws and other acts that regulate issues pertaining to the economic activity and which may influence the competition on the market, and it shall submit it in writing to the competent body. ”

“ It is the contention of respondents that the contested paragraph of the order effectively bans the noncollusive, individual use of zone pricing, a lawful, competitive sales method, and is therefore beyond the authority of the Commission. Respondents further assert that even if the Commission had such authority its exercise here was entirely improper, unnecessary, and would, in fact, hamper competition in the industry. ”

“ The Commission may require the participant undertakings to make proposals with a view to re-establish effective competition and setting them a deadline to this end. If the Commission accepts the proposed measures, it may decide how and by when the undertakings taking part shall implement them. 3. If the undertakings do not take the necessary measures or the Commission receives the proposals and it rejects them, it may order, by a decision, any necessary measure to restore the previous situation. It may take interim measures in order not to restrict the effective competition. ”

“ The Commission has been content to rest on its conclusion that respondent's exclusive contracts unreasonably restrain competition and tend to monopoly. If judicial review is to have a basis for functioning, the Commission must do more than pronounce a conclusion by way of fiat and without explication. ”

“ What may substantially lessen competition in those areas where competition is the main reliance for regulation of the market cannot be automatically transplanted to areas in which active regulation is entrusted to an administrative agency; for reasons we have indicated above, what competition is and should be in such areas must be read in the light of the special considerations that have influenced Congress to make specific provision for the particular industry. ”

“ Only the Commission, for example, is competent to make an initial determination as to whether and to what extent there is a relevant 'industry' within which the particular respondent competes and whether or not the nature of that competition is such as to indicate identical treatment of the entire industry by an enforcement agency. ”

“ But this merely reinforces our conclusion that it is improper for the Commission to suppose that the standard it has adopted is to be derived without more from a national policy defined by legislation and by the courts. Had the Commission clearly indicated that it relied on its own evaluation of the needs of the industry rather than on what it deemed a national policy, its order would have a different foundation. There can be no doubt that competition is a relevant factor in weighing the public interest. ”

“ Individual business executives shall be nominated on the basis of public competition, on the proposal of a competition commission. In basic organizations of associated labour specified by statute and in other organizations of associated labour the competition commission shall be composed of a statutorily-specified number of representatives of the organizations of associated labour and the trade union organizations concerned, and of representatives of the social community nominated or elected in conformity with statute. ”

“ Since the Commission chose to forbear overt Title II regulation and to rely instead upon the forces of vigorous competition in the provision of enhanced services, I feel confident that we will be able and willing to remove any remaining barriers to full and fair competition as the need is demonstrated. ”

“ It is clearly within the special competence of the Commission to appraise the adverse effect on competition that might result from postponing a particular order prohibiting continued violations of the law. Furthermore, the Commission alone is empowered to develop that enforcement policy best calculated to achieve the ends contemplated by Congress and to allocate its available funds and personnel in such a way as to execute its policy efficiently and economically. ”

“ Discussing the complaint, the Commission in its opinion further noted that charges were included against each respondent as to its individual use of and adherence to the zone system of selling 'for the purpose and with the effect of enabling the respondents to match exactly their offers to sell lead pigments to any prospective purchaser at any destination, thereby eliminating competition between and among themselves.' * * * It was the adherence by each of them to this system of pricing that made the combination work. ”

“ It is believed that the term 'unfair competition' has a legal significance which can be enforced by the commission and the courts, and that it is no more difficult to determine what is unfair competition than it is to determine what is a reasonable rate or what is an unjust discrimination. The committee was of the opinion that it would be better to put in a general provision condemning unfair competition than to attempt to define the numerous unfair practices, such as local price cutting, interlocking directorates, and holding companies intended to restrain substantial competition. ”

“ The point where a method of competition becomes 'unfair' within the meaning of the Act will often turn on the exigencies of a particular situation, trade practices, or the practical requirements of the business in question. Certainly we cannot say that exclusive contracts in this field should have been banned in their entirety or not at all, that the Commission exceeded the limits of its allowable judgment, see Siegel Co. ”

“ Those seeking the patronage of customers are spurred on to install the latest developments in the art in order to improve their services or products, and in order to enable them to reduce expenses and thereby lower their rates or prices. The benefits to be derived from competition should, therefore, not be lightly discarded.' R.623. Surely one cannot conclude from this bare statement that the Commission, whatever undisclosed awareness it may have of the problem, has sufficiently laid bare its mind to enable us to perform our reviewing function. ”

“ I concede that the task of developing adequate accounting systems is a heavy one; however, I believe the effort should be required before we sacrifice benefits of vertical integration to which the public is entitled.
Our dedication to "full and fair" competition should mean that all competitors--not just the small and the weak--are entitled to compete as vigorously as possible. It is a curious kind of "pro-competition" policy that frees one class of competitor and hobbles another. ”

“ It would greatly handicap effective enforcement of the Act to require testimony to show that which we believe to be self-evident, namely, that there is a 'reasonable possibility' that competition may be adversely affected by a practice under which manufacturers and producers sell their goods to some customers substantially cheaper than they sell like goods to the competitors of these customers. This showing in itself is sufficient to justify our conclusion that the Commission's findings of injury to competition were adequately supported by evidence. ”

“ The commission's report suggests no objection as to 1,088 of these representatives who, prior to their contracts, had not been engaged in selling and distributing newspapers or periodicals for other publishers. There is no sufficien evidence to show that respondent intended to practice unfair methods, or unduly to suppress competition, or to acquire monopoly, unless this reasonably may be inferred from making and enforcing the second or substituted agreement with many important wholesale dealers throughout the country. ”

“ If this legislation had actually been enacted, of course, the Commission would not have all the power it assumes today, since the proposed rule-making section in S. 986 repealed § 6 (g) , as passed in 1914, and substituted a provision allowing only rules and regulations "as are specifically provided for hereinafter," thus nullifying any argument that rules might be promulgated to define "unfair methods of competition." ”