Coalition Letter on Antitrust Legislation

To the Members of the United States Congress:

On behalf of the undersigned state and local chambers of commerce from 46 states, we strongly oppose recent legislation that would fundamentally rewrite America’s antitrust laws to protect competitors rather than consumers.  Bills like S. 2992, the “American Innovation and Choice Online Act,” and S. 2710, the “Open App Markets Act,” would lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers, discourage vigorous competition, and create different rules for American companies based on arbitrary criteria like market capitalization, while imposing no restraints on most foreign companies.  Moreover, enactment of any of these bills would intensify calls for the federal government to pick winners and losers in the economy – an endless slippery slope.

For the past four decades, antitrust law has served as a successful example of bipartisanship, with members of both parties agreeing that the law should protect the welfare of consumers, rather than particular competitors.  This consensus has created a stable legal framework across congresses and presidential administrations that has allowed America’s innovative economy to thrive and American consumers to benefit from quality goods and services at low prices. 

This stability is threatened. The antitrust bills currently under consideration would shift the focus of antitrust from promoting competition to protecting competitors from competition.  They would punish some companies for competing vigorously while leaving other companies free to engage in the exact same conduct.  As a result, these bills would give federal agencies the power to micromanage large sectors of the economy.  In the future, the federal government would decide whether a company can innovate, lower prices, or offer free shipping and other services – or whether such vigorous competition is unfair.

These bills would harm consumers by raising prices, fueling inflation, reducing investment, and damaging innovation.  For instance, S. 2992 would bar covered companies from using data to develop competing products that are often less expensive and would bar certain companies from providing consumers with information about lower-cost alternatives.  It may well ban companies from providing certain services to consumers at no cost. 

Instead of rewriting the antitrust laws to protect competitors, we encourage Congress to ensure that federal agencies have the resources they need to address potential anticompetitive conduct in the marketplace, subject to appropriate oversight.  Through this approach, Congress could preserve competition in the economy while maintaining the long bipartisan consensus that has served America well.

Sincerely,

National

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Alabama

Enterprise Chamber of Commerce

Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce

Shoals Chamber

Alaska

Haines Chamber of Commerce

Arizona

Apache Junction Area Chamber of Commerce

Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Chandler Chamber of Commerce

Glendale Chamber of Commerce

Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce

Greater Oro Valley Chamber

Greater Phoenix Chamber

Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of

Commerce

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce

Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce

Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce

Tempe Chamber of Commerce

Tucson Metro Chamber

Arkansas

Arkansas State Chamber/AIA

Little Rock Regional Chamber

Rogers Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce

California

Bay Area Council

Brea Chamber of Commerce

California Chamber of Commerce

Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

Fremont Chamber of Commerce

Fresno Chamber of Commerce

Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce

Gateway Chambers Alliance

Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of

Commerce

Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Los Angeles County Business Federation

Modesto Chamber of Commerce

Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce

North San Diego Business Chamber

Norwalk Chamber of Commerce

Oceanside Chamber of Commerce

Orange County Business Council

Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Rancho Cordova Area Chamber of Commerce

Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce

Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce

Roseville Area Chamber of Commerce

San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce

San Jose Chamber of Commerce

San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce

San Pedro Chamber of Commerce

Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of

Commerce

Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce

Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce

Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce

South Bay Association of Chambers of

Commerce

Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce

Tracy Chamber of Commerce

Tulare Chamber of Commerce

USA Minority Chamber of Commerce

Valley Industry & Commerce Association

West Ventura County Business Alliance      

Colorado

Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC

Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce

Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce

Vail Valley Partnership

Delaware

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

Florida

Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce

The Osceola Chamber

Georgia

Ashburn Turner County Chamber of

Commerce

Barrow County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

Hawaii

Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

Idaho

Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce

Idaho Chamber Alliance

Illinois

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of

Commerce

GLMV Chamber of Commerce

Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce

Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce

Lombard Chamber of Commerce

Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce

Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce

Indiana

Greater Lawrence Chamber

Indiana Chamber of Commerce

South Bend Regional Chamber

Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce

Iowa

Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce

Iowa Association of Business and Industry

Mason City Chamber of Commerce

Kansas

Leavenworth-Lansing Area Chamber of

Commerce

Kentucky

Commerce Lexington Inc.

Greater Louisville Inc. - The Metro

Chamber of Commerce

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Louisiana

Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of

Commerce

Maine

Maine State Chamber of Commerce

Maryland

Maryland Chamber of Commerce

Olney Chamber of Commerce

Michigan

Greater Niles Chamber

Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce

Michigan Chamber of Commerce

Minnesota

Austin Area Chamber of Commerce

Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

St Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce

Missouri

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Mississippi

Mississippi Economic Council

Montana

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

Montana Chamber of Commerce

North Carolina

North Carolina Chamber

North Dakota

Chamber Grand Forks / East Grand Forks

Greater North Dakota Chamber

Nebraska

Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce

Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Nevada

Henderson Chamber of Commerce

Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce

Vegas Chamber

New Hampshire

Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce

New Jersey

African American Chamber of Commerce of

New Jersey

Greater Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce

New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce

New Mexico

Gallup McKinley County Chamber of

Commerce

New Mexico Chamber of Commerce

White Pine Chamber of Commerce

New York

Buffalo Niagara Partnership

Business Council of New York State, Inc.

Capital Region Chamber

Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce

Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce

North Country Chamber of Commerce

Ohio

Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce

Marian Area Chamber of Commerce

Ohio Chamber of Commerce

Reynoldsburg Chamber of Commerce

Solon Chamber of Commerce/Western Reserve

Safety Council

Sunbury Big Walnut Area Chamber of

Commerce

Union County Chamber of Commerce

Oklahoma

Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce

State Chamber of Oklahoma

Oregon

Heppner Chamber of Commerce

Portland Business Alliance

Pennsylvania

Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce

Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce

Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and

Industry

Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce

Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of

Commerce

Rhode Island

Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce

South Dakota

Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce

Tennessee

Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce   

Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce

Seguin and Guadalupe County Area Chamber

of Commerce 

Texas

Abilene Chamber of Commerce

Central Fort Bend Chamber

Greater Magnolia Parkway Chamber of

Commerce

Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce

Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce

Ingleside Chamber of Commerce

Longview Chamber of Commerce

Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce

North Texas Commission

Rowlett Area Chamber & Visitors Center

Sherman Chamber of Commerce

South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce  

Texarkana Chamber of Commerce

Utah

Salt Lake Chamber

South Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce

South Valley Chamber

Virginia

Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of

Commerce

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Washington

Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce

Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce

Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce

Washington Retail Association

West Virginia

Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce

West Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Wisconsin

Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce

Wyoming

Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce

Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce