MD Supports Fair Trade Commission Of Japan’s (JFTC) Decision

AMD Supports Fair Trade Commission Of Japan’s (JFTC) Decision

AMD (NYSE: AMD) released the following statement today regarding the Fair Trade Commission of Japan’s (JFTC) Recommendation to Intel Japan K.K. (“Intel”) on its violation of Section 3 of Japan’s Antimonopoly Act:

“The JFTC found that Intel illegally manipulated the market to exclude competition, hurting PC users around the world,” said Thomas M. McCoy, AMD executive vice president, legal affairs and chief administrative officer. “Using market power illegally to limit innovation and, more importantly, consumers’ freedom to choose, cannot be tolerated. We encourage governments around the globe to ensure that their markets are not being harmed as well.”

McCoy continued, “The evidence of harm to consumers is obvious. By preventing PC manufacturers from using CPUs of their choice, Intel’s misconduct deprived consumers worldwide of the freedom to purchase computers that best fit their needs. Efforts by an avowed monopolist to artificially set market shares to exclude competition clearly violates antitrust standards globally.”

The JFTC has found that Intel has abused its monopoly power to exclude fair and open competition, thereby violating Section 3 of Japan’s Antimonopoly Act. These findings reveal that Intel used illegal tactics to stop AMD’s growing success and increasing market share, which reached 22% in 2002, by imposing limitations on Japanese PC manufacturers (which sell notebook and desktop computers to customers around the world).

Read the complete Press Release