Which of the following demonstrates one way the government can promote competition?

• A. Enacting and enforcing antitrust legislation
• B. Reducing trade restrictions unilaterally
• C. Offering corporate subsidies
• D. Imposing high tariffs on all goods

Answer: (A)

Antitrust enforcement directly keeps markets open and competitive by stopping monopolies and anti-competitive tactics. When the government enacts laws and empowers agencies to prevent practices like price fixing, market division, and mergers that reduce rivalry, it helps ensure firms compete on price and quality. This leads to better options and lower costs for consumers, plus incentives for innovation. Other approaches can influence competition but often create distortions: subsidies tend to pick winners, tariffs shield domestic producers and can reduce overall competition, and simply reducing trade barriers without robust anti-competitive safeguards may not address inside-market abuses.