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Antitrust laws are laws that are put in place in order to regulate economic commerce in the United States. This allows businesses to compete in their respected fields without being trumped by competing businesses. In today's society, it is important to foster competition. Herbert Hoover Once said, "Competition is not only he basis of protection to the consumer but is the incentive to progress." If antitrust laws were nonexistent, then nothing would be in the way of companies being able to monopolize. Antitrust laws are used to keep the competitiveness in the business world in tact and to keep businesses operating honest and fairly, which benefits the consumers in the end.

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The Sherman Act Prohibits agreements in restraints of trade. This act was put in place to block any agreements among firms that reduce competition in the marketplace. These agreements include: bid-rigging, refusals to deal, price-fixing, etc... One of the biggest organizations that this act was intended for was the Standard Oil trust.
Section 1: Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal [and is a felony punishable by a fine, and/or imprisonment].
Section 2: Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony [and is similarly punishable].

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This video gives a brief history of how and why antitrust laws were implemented, while also explaining why they are important to us.

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In May of 2015, JPMorgan pleaded guilty to a single antitrust violation that had a penalty fine of $550 million. The Fed caught on to some suspicious manipulation of the price of U.S. dollars and euros exchanged in the Foreign Currency Exchange (FX) spot market through JPMorgan. This violation was caused by a single employee that worked for the firm's FX trading businesses and had colluded with several other traders at different firms, causing a violation in Section 1 of the Sherman Act of 1890. The violating trader has since been dismissed for his actions.

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During the pleading, JPMorgan and the Fed founded a resolution that ultimately cost the Firm $342 million along with the agreement to the entry of a Consent Order.
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, stated: “... We demand and expect better of our people. The lesson here is that the conduct of a small group of employees, or of even a single employee, can reflect badly on all of us..."

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Before AT&T became what it is today, it was a successful monopoly. Going through multiple lawsuits, AT&T managed to avoid having to breakup for almost a whole century. From 1913-1982, AT&T had to fight in court to defend itself in several antitrust lawsuits. Finally, in 1984, the companies telephone service was broken up into 7 "Baby Bells" due to an agreement to a settlement in 1982. This breakup gave consumers access to lower prices, and more options for long distance service and phones. Most of he 7 Baby Bells eventually ended up buying each other out and merging together to become one again. Even though they got back together to become AT&T in today's world, the breakup still allowed for other service companies to compete and gain a following in the market. Almost all of us can say we were effected by this case, since we all (probably) have mobile phones with a service carrier.

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The Federal Trade Commission Act was signed into law by Woodrow Wilson in 1914, and outlaws unfair methods of competition, unfair acts, or practices that affect commerce.

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The FTC is dedicated to advancing consumer interests while also encouraging innovation and competition within the economy. They protect consumers by preventing unfair or deceptive practices within the marketplace. The FTC also ensures that our markets are safe and open while enforcing Antitrust laws.

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The Clayton Act was formed by Congress in an attempt to further strengthen the federal antitrust laws that the Sherman Act did not fully cover. The new provisions of the act deal with four different business practices that are declared illegal, but not criminal. The Major sections come as follows:

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Prohibits price discrimination, which is when a seller charges prices that are lower than other sellers for like products. This tends to create a monopoly and lessen competition

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States that sellers or lessors cannot set terms on a buyers promise that they will not  use or deal in the goods of the sellers competition. There are two exclusionary practices that are prohibited under section 3.
-Exclusive-Dealing Contracts
A contract where a seller forbids a buyer to purchase products from the seller's competitors.
-Tying Arrangements
A contract where a seller conditions the sale of a product on the buyers agreement that they will purchase an additional product from the same seller.

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States that a person or business cannot hold stock or assets where the effects may lessen competition.  This can result in monopoly power and a substantial decrease in competition for a business.

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States that no person can be a director in two or more competing entities at the same time. This implies that the two competing businesses under the same director will either be completely noncompetitive, or overly competitive with one another.