United States of America: Introduction of Tougher Enforcement Against Monopolies Act (TEAM Act) in US Senate

On 14 June 2021, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Tougher Enforcement Against Monopolies Act (TEAM Act) in the United States Senate. The Bill aims to reform the US antitrust laws and strengthen the enforcement power of US agencies. Firstly, the Bill proposes to consolidate antitrust enforcement into one agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ). This avoids duplicate competition reviews and would also transfer resources of the Federal Trade Commission to the DOJ. Secondly, the Bill would introduce a ban on consolidations resulting in more than 66% of market share and would consider transactions resulting in more than 33% of market share as harming competition. Thirdly, the Act would repeal the decision of the US Supreme Court on two cases, the Illinois Brick and Hanover Shoe, to allow consumers to recover damages that resulted from the anticompetitive conduct of a company. The DOJ would be able to recover triple the amount of the compensatory damages (trebled damages) on behalf of consumers. Finally, the TEAM Act would codify the consumer welfare standard, meaning there is a rebuttable presumption that if a merger leads to a reduction in output, innovation or quality, the transaction is unlawful.