ABSTRACT
Recent studies have revealed that US national antitrust was used as tool of American international economic policy at the end of the Second World War. The case of the aluminium industry adds new insights to this historical debate. Considering the delay in war preparedness that became obvious in 1941, US authorities invested directly in aluminium production, breaking ALCOA’s monopoly and becoming owner of about one-third of total world capacity. Also a first independent producer, Reynolds, appeared in the US. In this case, this antitrust action against ALCOA, which was in its final phase during the war, linked the problem of the national monopoly of this firm with the possibility of curbing the international cartel. The inspection of ALCOA shaped indeed the behaviour of ALCAN pushing the Canadian firm to denounce the agreement at the end of the war to save the position of ALCOA.
