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Title 49 — TransportationRelease 119-73

§41308 Exemption from the antitrust laws

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE VII— - AVIATION PROGRAMS › Part PART A— - AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY › Subpart subpart ii— - economic regulation › Chapter CHAPTER 413— - FOREIGN AIR TRANSPORTATION › § 41308

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation can free a person from antitrust laws when doing so is needed for the public interest. "Antitrust laws" means what the first section of the Clayton Act says (15 U.S.C. 12). This exemption is made as part of certain Transportation Department orders that approve deals or changes. It only applies as much as needed to carry out the approved transaction and anything the order makes necessary. For orders that approve an agreement, request, modification, or cancellation under section 41309, the Secretary must give the exemption if the required findings are met.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §41308

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section, “antitrust laws” has the same meaning given that term in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12).
(b)When the Secretary of Transportation decides it is required by the public interest, the Secretary, as part of an order under section 41309 or 42111 of this title, may exempt a person affected by the order from the antitrust laws to the extent necessary to allow the person to proceed with the transaction specifically approved by the order and with any transaction necessarily contemplated by the order.
(c)In an order under section 41309 of this title approving an agreement, request, modification, or cancellation, the Secretary, on the basis of the findings required under section 41309(b)(1), shall exempt a person affected by the order from the antitrust laws to the extent necessary to allow the person to proceed with the transaction specifically approved by the order and with any transaction necessarily contemplated by the order.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 4130849 App.:1384.Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85–726, § 414, 72 Stat. 770; restated Oct. 24, 1978, Pub. L. 95–504, § 30(a), 92 Stat. 1731; Feb. 15, 1980, Pub. L. 96–192, § 27, 94 Stat. 47. 49 App.:1551(a)(6) (related to 49 App.:1384).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85–726, 72 Stat. 731, § 1601(a)(6) (related to § 414); added Oct. 4, 1984, Pub. L. 98–443, § 3(c), 98 Stat. 1704. 49 App.:1551(b)(1)(C) (related to 49 App.:1384).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85–726, 72 Stat. 731, § 1601(b)(1)(C) (related to § 414); added Oct. 24, 1978, Pub. L. 95–504, § 40(a), 92 Stat. 1745; Oct. 14, 1982, Pub. L. 97–309, § 4(b), 96 Stat. 1454; Oct. 4, 1984, Pub. L. 98–443, § 3(a), 98 Stat. 1703. Subsection (a) is substituted for “the ‘anti-trust laws’ set forth in subsection (a) of section 12 of title 15” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. In subsection (b), reference to 49 App.:1378 and 1379 is omitted as obsolete.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 41308

Title 49 — Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73