Boise Cascade Corporation v. Federal Trade Commission

The majority today tells the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that manufacturers who charge different prices to competing retailers cannot be held to have violated price discrimination law — unless the FTC somehow overcomes evidence that competition persists in the affected business sector. Apparently, the majority imposes this new evidentiary burden to avoid a result it finds economically unappealing. Even if the majority is right in its economic *1153appraisal, however, the choice is not ours to make. Though born of good intentions, today’s decision disregards the policies that Congress…