News from the US

A couple of interesting articles in the New York Times.

After years of an (arguably ideological) do-nothing approach, something is moving in US antitrust enforcement, albeit only at State level. The New York State attorney general is running an investigation in the Intel case. He is reported stating:
“Protecting fair and open competition in the microprocessor market is critical to New York, the United States and the world.”
Let's wait and see where this will lead.

At the same time, Paul Krugman is praising Europe and its approach to competition:
"What’s behind Europe’s comeback? It’s a complicated story, probably involving a combination of deregulation (which has expanded job opportunities) and smart regulation. One of the keys to Europe’s broadband success is that unlike U.S. regulators, many European governments have promoted competition, preventing phone and cable companies from monopolizing broadband access."

Competition and competitors

At the time the merger GE/Honeywell was blocked by the Commission, a slogan started to circulate: we Americans protect competition, you Europeans protect competitors.
A few years later, the European Commission finds that Microsoft infringed article 82, the CFI upholds the decision and some people try to recycle that slogan once again.

But something in the air has changed.
Immediately after the judgment, not less than the Economist ("Brussels rules OK") depicted European regulators as the ones playing a role in the global economy, while Uncle Sam stays at the window.

Now, discussing the Intel issue, also the NYT has contrasted the dismissive behaviour of the FTC towards big companies with the actions of European, Japanese and Korean authorities.

Is it not time for a new slogan?