I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4731

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide that it is not

contrary to the foreign policy interest of the United States to bring

an antitrust lawsuit asserting the manipulation of energy supplies or

prices, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 23, 2000

Mr. GILMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide

that it is not contrary to the foreign policy interest

of the United States to bring an antitrust lawsuit asserting the manipulation of energy supplies or prices, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Trust Busting

5 Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) it is in the foreign policy interest of the

4 United States for there to be a free market in en5 ergy on an international basis;

6 (2) a principal reason for high energy prices in

7 the United States is international price fixing that

8 has evaded review under the antitrust laws of the

9 United States because of foreign policy consider10 ations and technical impediments in these laws that

11 prevent the effective enforcement of United States

12 law with respect to international price fixing in the

13 energy market; and

14 (3) among these foreign policy and technical

15 impediments is the discretionary federal act of state

16 doctrine which has been used to bar a lawsuit di17 rected at stopping the manipulation of energy sup18 plies and prices because of concern that such litiga19 tion might interfere in the foreign policy of the

20 United States.

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

22 The purposes of this Act are—

23 (1) to establish that the foreign policy interest

24 of the United States would be advanced, rather than

25 impeded or complicated, if foreign entities, including

26 foreign cartels and foreign countries participating in
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1 such cartels, were held responsible for energy supply

2 and price manipulation that affects the United

3 States economy; and

4 (2) to eliminate barriers to the effective applica5 tion of United States antitrust laws to foreign enti6 ties that have manipulated energy supplies or prices.

7 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961

8 RELATING TO JURISDICTION OF UNITED

9 STATES COURTS IN CERTAIN ANTITRUST

10 CASES.

11 Section 620(e)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of

12 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(e)(2)) is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding’’ and in14 serting ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding’’;

15 (2) by striking ‘‘: Provided, That this subpara16 graph shall not be applicable (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘,

17 except that this subparagraph shall not be applica18 ble’’;

19 (3) by striking ‘‘or other taking, or (2)’’ and in20 serting the following: ‘‘or other taking.

21 ‘‘(B)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

22 no court in the United States shall decline on the ground

23 of the federal act of state doctrine to make a determina24 tion on the merits relating to an action under any anti25 trust laws in a case asserting the manipulation of energy
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1 supplies or prices, except that this subparagraph shall not

2 be applicable’’; and

3 (4) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘antitrust laws’

5 has the meaning given it in subsection (a) of the first sec6 tion of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), except that

7 such term includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Com8 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent such section 5

9 applies to unfair methods of competition.’’.

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