In The News: Republicans Should Continue to Champion the Consumer Welfare Standard

May 4, 2021

“The Left has long wanted to destroy the prevailing “consumer welfare standard,” a concept promulgated by conservative Judge Robert Bork that has now undergirded antitrust law for over four decades. The consumer welfare standard is simple. When evaluating alleged anti-competitive conduct, judges and regulators must look to whether the business practices in question have harmed consumers. Consumer harm is measured through tangible effects, such as higher prices or reduced product quality. The standard is designed to protect the competitive process, not individual firms in a marketplace from being beaten by rivals.

This focused, economically grounded approach to antitrust enforcement has been the rule for four decades. The consumer welfare standard has produced a more reliable, consistent approach to antitrust enforcement than in the abusive past. It has fostered innovation and economic activity.”

– Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, on The Washington Examiner. 

Read the full opinion piece here.