How Trade Associations Can Best Meet the Challenge of the Energy Crisis

• Published date: 01 December 1974
• Date: 01 December 1974
• DOI: 10.1177/0003603X7401900406
• Subject Matter: Article

H'OW

TRADE

ASSOCIATIONS

CAN

BEST

MEET

THE CHALLENGE

'OF

THE ENERGY CRISIS

by

DAVID

L.

ROLL-

I am pleased to

participate

in this 10th Annual Symposium

on

Trade

Association

Law

and

Practice. My assigned topic

is, "How associations can best meet the challenge of the

energy crisis." However, since our economy is plagued today

not only by energy shortfalls

but

also by a plethora of

other

product

shortages-paper,

fertilizer, feedstocks, sheet metal,

possibly

bread

and

even toilets, to name a

few-this

paper

will address questions of

what

trade

associations can do to

cope with all types of product shortages.

At

the outset, you should be aware

that

as an

Assistant

Director of the

FTC's

Bureau

of Competition Ispeak

from

the perspective of a government

antitrust

enforcer.

In

that

perspective-which

some may call

myopic-.

and

bearing in

mind

that

I am a voice from the

FTC's

engineroom whose

views do

not

necessarily represent those of the Commission

or

any

particular

Commissioner, Ishall begin by addressing

the central policy question of what is the

proper

role of anti-

trust

enforcement in periods of widespread shortage

and

seri-

ous economic dislocation.

'To

many of those who

are

im-

:mersed

in

the day-to-day emergencies resulting

from

short-

age

and

disclocation,

antitrust

enforcement

may

seem

anachronistic

and

trivial. The

fear

is

that

unless

antitrust

enforcers relax

their

vigil and allowsuspension

of

the prinei-

-Assistant Director, Bureau of Competition, F.T.C.

AUTHOR'S

NOTE:

The remarks in this address represent only

the

views of a member of the Federal Trade Commission staff: They

are

not

intended to be,

and

should

not

be construed as, representative

of an official Commission policy.

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