The Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act:

U.S. Railroads are currently covered by a variety of antitrust exemptions.  For example, agreements on rates, trackage rights, and leases, when approved by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), are not subject to the antitrust laws, and the STB likewise has exclusive authority over rail industry merger review.  Agreements reached through industry “conferences” convened by the Secretary of Transportation are also exempted, and the industry enjoys limited protection from treble damages actions and certain forms of injunctive relief.

All of this may change, however, if Congress passes the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act (S. 772 and H.R. 1650).  The broadest provisions of the Act would repeal the filed rate doctrine (also known as the Keogh Doctrine), the railroads’ exemption to Section 5 of the FTC Act, and the STB’s exclusive merger review authority.  Other, more targeted provisions would subject rate agreements to antitrust enforcement and restore private litigants’ right to seek injunctive relief.

Is the proposed legislation a step in the right direction, or is the current level of competitive oversight more than sufficient?  Is the addition of FTC and DOJ oversight likely to assist the STB, or to foster regulatory conflict?  Do the recent fuel charge class actions suggest a need for more or less railroad industry antitrust enforcement?  Please join our panel of experts for a lively discussion of these issues.

Program Moderator
Samuel Sipe, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Washington, DC

Program Faculty
Seth Bloom, Senior Counsel, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee

Roger W. Fones, Partner, Morrison & Foerster, LLP, Washington, DC

Thomas Danjczek, President, Steel Manufacturers Association, Washington, DC

Anant Raut, Counsel, House Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC

Louis Warchot, Senior VP, Law and General Counsel, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC

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