Reference no: EM133761966
Question: In 1950, the United States government passed the Celler-Kefauver Antimerger Act. This reformed and strengthened the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, which had amended the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. In the 1960s, the Ford Motor Company, along with the Chrysler Corporation and General Motors Corporation, owned approximately 90% of U.S. automobiles. Champion, GMC, and Autolite mostly owned the spark-plug market. The Ford Motor Company bought Autolite. In turn Champion's share of the market dropped considerably. The United States filed a suit against the Ford Motor Company in a federal district court, claiming that the Autolite acquisition violated Section 7. The court ordered the Ford Motor Company to divest itself of Autolite. The Ford Motor Company appealed.
Review the following case, Ford Motor Co. v. United States, 405 U.S. 562, 92 S.Ct. 1142, 31 L.Ed.2d 492 (1972), by clicking the following link: Ford Motor Co. v United States
Describe the Clayton Antitrust Act and how it applies to this case. Explain how Ford, as an outsider, could have affected competition among spark plug manufacturers. Would there have been a different effect on competition in the spark plug market if Ford had chosen to manufacture its own spark plugs, rather than to acquire Autolite? Would Ford's decision to manufacture spark plugs itself have been illegal? Do you agree or disagree with the outcome of this case? Why?