Winter 2015, Volume 1, Number 2
Antitrust Chronicle® – The Seventh Circuit – Motorola Ruling / Global Supply Cartels and The American Consumer
At the heart of this edition is the conflict between the application of provisions of the Sherman Act, on the one hand, and the provisions of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982 (“FTAIA”) on the other – to anticompetitive conduct arising offshore that adversely impacts on American consumers. This conflict came to fore in the Motorola v. AU Optronics Corp case relating to sale of liquid crystal display (“LCD”) panels at artificially inflated prices to Motorola, an American cellphone manufacturer to Motorola. Eventually, the high cost of LCDs was transferred to the American consumers. In its recent ruling, the Seventh Circuit held that Motorola is prohibited from recovering damages in U.S. courts under the FTAIA.
