The Price of Abuse: Intel and the European Commission Decision

Abstract:     
The May 13, 2009 decision by the European Commission ('EC') holding that Intel violated Article 82 of the Treaty of Rome and should be fined a record amount and prohibited from engaging in certain conduct, set off a predictable four part chorus of denunciations: 1. Intel did nothing wrong and was just competing hard; 2. Intel’s discounts were good for consumers; 3. The entire matter is just another example of Europeans protecting their own against a more efficient U. S. company; and 4. Even if Intel did engage in anticompetitive activity, the fine was much too large. These assertions will be addressed in turn.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 9

Keywords: antitrust, Intel, European Commission, competition policy, EU, anticompetitive, Treaty of Rome, fines, American Antitrust Institute

JEL Classification: K21, K33, L40

working papers series