Legal Definitions - Webb–Pomerene Act

The Webb–Pomerene Act is a federal law that was first passed in 1918. It provides a limited exemption for export businesses from the antitrust laws. This means that an export business can form joint export associations without violating antitrust laws.

The purpose of the Webb–Pomerene Act is to help American manufacturers and producers to expand their foreign trade. Congress believed that American firms needed the power to form joint export associations to compete with foreign cartels. However, the exemption created by the Webb–Pomerene Act was carefully designed to avoid harming domestic interests.

It's important to note that an export association formed under the Webb–Pomerene Act cannot agree with foreign competitors to fix prices or establish exclusive markets. This would still be a violation of antitrust laws.

An American company that produces widgets wants to expand its business by exporting widgets to other countries. However, the company is concerned that it won't be able to compete with foreign cartels that control the widget market in those countries. To level the playing field, the company forms a joint export association with other American widget producers under the Webb–Pomerene Act. This allows them to work together to export widgets without violating antitrust laws.

In this example, the American widget producers are able to form a joint export association under the Webb–Pomerene Act to compete with foreign cartels without breaking antitrust laws.