Law360, New York (January 15, 2016, 9:44 PM EST) -- At least since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in F. Hoffman-LaRoche Ltd. v. Empagran SA,[1] the contours of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act, one of the more opaque statutes one can find, have begun to come into focus. This statute was passed in 1982 as part of a package designed to encourage and support U.S. exports; it made its appearance as Title IV of the Export Trading Company Act,[2] most of which was devoted to the authorization of exporting arrangements that would be entitled to special treatment under the U.S. antitrust laws. Title IV, however, was an attempt to clarify the circumstances under which activities outside the United States would nonetheless be subject to U.S. antitrust enforcement. In trying to accomplish this goal, unfortunately, the FTAIA used language that was anything but clear. With a flood of negatives, it says that the Sherman Act (and the Federal Trade Commission Act) do not apply to conduct involving foreign nations that is not import trade or commerce if that trade does not have a "direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect" on commerce that is not import trade or certain export trade. Whew. The FTAIA added that the required effect on U.S. commerce alone is not enough; that effect must "give[] rise to a claim" under the antitrust laws, without reference to the FTAIA....