"America First Antitrust": A potential political reorientation of U.S. Antitrust Laws?
In the July 2025 edition of Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht, renowned antitrust expert Hartmut Schneider discusses a significant political reorientation in US antitrust law. The editorial, titled "America First Antitrust," suggests a shift towards prioritizing national strategic interests, deregulation, and economic protectionism under a framework labeled "America First."
This reorientation emphasizes supporting domestic industry competitiveness, reducing regulatory burdens on American firms, and aligning antitrust enforcement with broader geopolitical and economic objectives rather than traditional consumer welfare or strict competition principles.
The editorial's context can be understood in light of the Trump Administration’s 2025 policy shift in areas like AI governance. This move away from regulatory oversight and equity considerations towards deregulation and strategic competitiveness as a national priority reflects the broader "America First" philosophy that typically favors domestic industry support and streamlined government intervention.
The reorientation in antitrust law can be aligned with these themes, favoring an economic nationalism approach that softens or reshapes competition law to better protect American companies in global competition, particularly against rivals like China. This political reorientation likely entails prioritizing economic and strategic interests, possibly at the expense of traditional antitrust goals like strict market competition and consumer choice.
Hartmut Schneider, a frequent contributor to Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht, provides insights into how the new Republican administration may approach antitrust enforcement in the United States. His analysis in the editorial is based on his understanding of the administration's political stance and policies.
The publication of this editorial in July 2025 indicates that it was written after the new Republican administration took office. The discussion is presented in German, and it is expected to spark debates among antitrust experts. The editorial's potential implications for antitrust enforcement under the new administration are significant and far-reaching.
- Hartmut Schneider, in his July 2025 editorial for Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht titled "America First Antitrust," proposes a shift in US antitrust policy-and-legislation, aligning it with the broader "America First" philosophy that prioritizes economic nationalism, deregulation, and strategic competitiveness.
- The new Republican administration's approach to antitrust policy, as suggested by Schneider's analysis, may entail favoring economic and strategic interests over traditional antitrust goals like strict market competition and consumer choice, potentially reshaping competition law to protect American companies in global competition, even at the expense of general-news objectives like increased diversity and market competition.
