Extraterritorial Application of US Antitrust Rules : Ambiguities Old and New

The US was the first state that reacted the cross- border implications of foreign anticompetitive practices. In order to extend their jurisdiction over these practices, US courts introduced ‘effects doctrine’ which was envisaged to establish judicial jurisdiction on the basis of effects created in US trade and commerce. The extraterritorial application of US antitrust rules has been gradually developed and as of to date, it has been 75 years since the effect doctrine was first adopted by the US courts. Nevertheless, the case law on extraterritoriality of US antitrust rules is far from being complete. This is particularly evident in recent conflicting rulings on component cartels that were concluded and implemented outside the US. Given the advent of new supply chains in global economy, US courts encounter new challenges to ensure competitiveness of domestic markets. In so doing, the Supreme Court must both shed light upon the ambiguities that have been ongoing since the adoption of the effects doctrine and recalibrate its approaches to extraterritoriality to address legal and regulatory challenges ahead