2: Maintain Competition
Prevent anticompetitive mergers and other anticompetitive business practices in the marketplace. Other Information:
The work of the FTC's Maintaining Competition Mission is critical to protect and strengthen the free and open markets that
are the cornerstone of a vibrant economy. Aggressive competition among sellers in an open marketplace gives consumers the
benefit of lower prices, higher quality products and services, maximum choice, and innovation leading to beneficial new products
and services. The FTC's goal is to promote vigorous competition by using the antitrust laws to prevent anticompetitive mergers
and stop business practices that diminish competition, such as agreements among competitors about prices or other aspects
of competition (referred to as nonmerger enforcement), while at the same time minimizing the burdens on legitimate competitive
activities. The FTC also engages in a dialogue with state, federal, and international policymakers to advocate on behalf of
free and open markets and to urge these other policymakers to restrict competition as little as possible when pursuing other
regulatory goals. In addition, the agency engages in dialogue with a variety of stakeholders to understand market concerns,
and engages in and encourages study of and empirical research on competition topics. The FTC also files amicus curiae briefs
in cases presenting important competition issues that urge courts to adopt rules that benefit consumers by promoting competition.
And finally, the agency enters into agreements with foreign competition authorities to facilitate the exchange of information
about investigations.
Objective(s):
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