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Abstract

The Reagan Administration's recent legislative proposals for antitrust reform would, if enacted by Congress, mark a historic reversal of United States anti-merger policy. They would significantly relax extant statutory prohibitions against potentially anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions. They also would empower the President to grant relief to import-impacted industries by "temporarily" exempting them from the anti-merger laws. The Administration's rationale seems to be that past merger policies are responsible for the declining international competitiveness of American firms, and that those policies have deprived American industries of the ability to restructure themselves in order to achieve (or regain) world-class competitive status. This article describes six postulates regarding the revisions that are confidently asserted by the reformers but lacking in empirical support. An alternative proposal is also offered.

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