U.S. Bucked Rest of World on Antitrust Enforcement in 2016

It was a record year for antitrust cartel enforcement in 2016, with $6.7 billion in total fines levied — but not in the U.S., which had its slowest year in a decade, according to a new report.

Even as the European Union levied a record $4.1 billion in antitrust fines, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division’s total fines nosedived to $387 million in 2016 — down from a record $2.85 billion in 2015.

For context, that’s less than India’s $941 million, and less than South Korea’s $765 million.

The numbers come courtesy of Allen & Overy, which on Thursday released its annual ...