Competition Act 1998 M1

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is an administer of the competition and Consumer Act (CCA) which is to prevent collusion among the firms and to prevent the individual firm which break the market equilibrium with their market power. Well competitive market would deliver efficiency costs, faster innovation, prevention of unduly concentrated markets, business freedom, wealth distribution, and enhancement of international competitiveness. Therefore, the ACCC is playing a crucial role in Australia, and their activities can be divided into four categories; (1) the policies for anti-competitive conduct and anti-competitive practices, (2) the mergers policy, (3) the consumer protection policy, and (4) four pillars policy.

Antitrust laws are meant to protect competition in markets. They try to ensure that all individuals have an “equally opportunity in honest competition.” Early in the nation’s history, there was widespread fear of the dangers of monopolies and other restrictions on competition. In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act to prevent limits on competition caused by private parties. Thus the main goal of antitrust law is to preserve “economic freedom” and a “free-enterprise system.” Specifically, it attempts to preserve “the freedom to compete” for businesses. In a practical sense, antitrust laws are seeking to prevent burdens on competition in the marketplace.

The role of antitrust laws has been the subject of numerous publications that have attempted to provide a precise set of reasons and inspirations for their creation. However, there are still many schools of thought on the subject and much debate over the effectiveness and legitimate implementation of these laws. This paper analyzes the three main antitrust laws that the federal branch of the United States government uses to try to restrict monopolies. This paper also looks at antitrust laws in the modern business environment, and attempts to relay the information in a manner that a newcomer to the subject will understand the concept as it relates to modern technology and business practices. The findings of this paper indicate that the topic of antitrust laws is more complex than many believe and, depending on the position of the person affected by monopolies, the sentiment ranges widely.

One law, which helps protect businesses and promotes fair competition for the benefit of the consumers, is the US Anti-Trust law. This law is comprised of three different acts: The Sherman Act 1890, the Clayton Act 1914 and the Federal Trade Commission Act 1914. The first role these acts perform is to restrict the formation of cartels which would perform outside of the guidelines of the government and there for not be bound by there laws. The second role these acts perform is to ensure no single business entity can perform a certain level of mergers and acquisitions, which would essentially turn them into a monopoly and reduce competition. Overall, the antitrust laws are constantly debated for their overall functionality and efficiency in protecting the fair business practices of the United States. [2] “One view, mostly closely associated with the "Chicago School of economics" suggests that antitrust laws should focus solely on the benefits to consumers and overall efficiency, while a broad range of

Competition is considered beneficial for business and business environment, as in a competitive market, companies offer higher quality products at lower prices to be successful or to gain market share. On the other hand, businesses perhaps get involve in violation of antitrust laws that is a white collar crime as it has a bad effect on competition, can damage economy and can increase prices. Antitrust laws are formed to protect consumer and competitors from unfair competition and its consequences, these laws prohibits: conspiracies, combinations and contracts in trade restraint, mergers, and acquisitions that tend to significantly reduce the competition offenses and methods of unfair competition, as well as unfair practices and acts in the conduct of commerce and trade (Kovacic et al, 2007).

Competition being one of the major issues that often must be addressed in the business world, it is important for a firm to learn on ways to reduce the impact of the competition. Competition is definitely an important factor in helping a business

The antitrust laws ban unlawful mergers and business practices in broad terms, leaving courts to choose which ones are illegal based on the details of each case. Courts have applied the antitrust laws to varying markets, from a time of picking blackberries to texting on them. Yet for over one hundred years, the antitrust laws have had the same fundamental purpose: to keep the practice of competition for the benefit of customers, making sure there are strong incentives for businesses to function efficiently, keep prices down, and keep quality up.

The EU market for goods is already highly integrated and harmonised along the 28 countries. However, to make the EU market work efficiently, businesses have to respect a number of rules and compete fairly. Anticompetitive behaviours, such as the abuse of a dominant market position, price-fixing agreements and unwarranted public support, are prohibited.

In the present essay the problem covered will be The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, known as UCTA and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999, known as UTCCR. As things stand at present, consumers are faced with two pieces of legislation in a vital area of contracts. The main areas analysed will consist of a historical background of the Act and the Regulations, a comparison between them but also the inconsistencies and overlaps which exist regarding these two layers of complex regulation. After this thorough analysis is complete a conclusion will be drawn on the bases of what was covered.

(3) The Commission shall, while determining whether an agreement has an appreciable adverse effect on competition under section 3 have due regard to all or any of the following factors, namely-

Section 2: Most government policies will impact businesses in some form. The Sherman Antitrust Act and Clayton Antitrust Act are regulations to prevent monopoly behavior and promote fairness in competition and prevent price discrimination respectively (Abernathy, 2016). Food safety and standard regulations (2009) are meant to ensure quality of food (Abernathy, 2016).

•Advising a major financial services company in relation to Commerce Commission investigations, including execution of a search warrant.

The law has been seen to protect competition for a very long time. Common law states and demands that the restraints that have been put on trade must be reasonable in order for them to enforce them.

Competition and environmental regulation are both compulsory. Both environmental regulation and competitiveness policies are two strong policies that are taken into great consideration. They both aim to prevent market failures and enhance social welfare. The purpose of this essay is to find out whether strict environmental regulation can assist industries to achieve competitiveness, followed with arguments in favor of or against. The main aim of strict environmental regulation is to correct environmental damages while the aim of competition policy is to prevent distortions due to the exploitation and misuse of market power.

In this assignment I will identify the structure of markets within the economy and explain how they deviate from the model of perfect competition. I will also expand on which market forces dominate the market place, identifying the organisational responses to demand including the adoption of competitive strategies within the free market. Finally I will explain the role of the competition commission and regulatory bodies.