Goodlatte Statement at Subcommittee Hearing on “International Antitrust Enforcement: China and Beyond”

Chairman Goodlatte: The Judiciary Committee routinely exercises its oversight authority to ensure that our nation’s antitrust laws are applied in a manner that is transparent, fair, predictable, and reasonably stable over time.  A natural extension of this oversight is ensuring that our nation’s companies and citizens receive comparable treatment in foreign jurisdictions. As commerce becomes an increasingly global enterprise, the manner in which antitrust and competition laws are applied to companies and citizens located or engaged in business outside of the United States also grows in importance. In particular, China has risen in prominence as an economic marketplace as well as a competition law jurisdiction. Over the past several years, reports have surfaced that allege China is deploying its competition laws in a manner that strains the boundaries of due process, that focuses on advancing domestic industrial policies, and that seeks to extract valuable American innovations without fair compensation. I would like to thank Chairman Issa for holding today’s hearing to delve into these potentially serious abuses.  Today’s testimony will help the Committee gain a better understanding of the history of China’s competition laws, how they have been enforced, and the potential impact of this enforcement on other international competition jurisdictions. Furthermore, it will provide a record regarding how our executive agencies, including our antitrust enforcement agencies, have been coordinating among each other and engaging with China and other foreign countries on international competition law enforcement. This hearing also serves as a reminder that the United States should be a leader in fair and reasonable antitrust enforcement. To that end, enacting important antitrust reforms, such as the SMARTER Act, will help to ensure that the U.S. continues to be an example to international competition law authorities. I look forward to hearing from today’s excellent panel of expert witnesses on these important issues, and yield back the balance of my time.