Antitrust Guidelines

Project participants are continuously asked to follow specific antitrust guidelines that spell out behavior expected during the project. These guidelines are listed below.

DO:

  • Adhere to prepared agendas for all meetings and object any time meeting minutes do not accurately reflect the matters which transpire.

  • Understand the purposes and authority of each group in which you participate.

  • Protest against any discussions or meeting activities which appear to violate the antitrust or competition laws; do not continue until you are assured it is proper or the discussion is redirected.  Otherwise, discontinue the meeting.

DON'T:

In fact or appearance, discuss or exchange information regarding:

  • Individual company prices, price changes, price differentials, mark-ups, discounts, allowances, credit terms, or data that bear on price, costs, production, capacity, inventories, and sales.

  • Industry pricing policies, price levels, price changes, differentials, etc.

  • Changes in industry production, capacity, or inventories.

  • Bids on contracts for particular products or procedures for responding to bid invitations.

  • Plans of individual companies concerning the design, production, distribution, or marketing of particular products, including proposed territories or customers, except as part of a distributorship relationship.

  • Matters relating to actual or potential individual suppliers that might have the effect of excluding them from any market or of influencing the business conduct of firms towards such suppliers or customers.

  • Termination of manufacturing as a quid pro quo for supply of a product.

  • Discuss or exchange information, even in jest, regarding the above matters during social gatherings incidental to any meetings.

Subjects to avoid. When you do participate in the activities of an association, avoid the following subjects, which are likely to support inferences of illegal understandings or agreements:

  • Individual company prices, price changes, price differentials, mark-ups, discounts, allowances and credit terms.

  • Individual company figures on costs, productions, capacity, inventories and sales.

  • Industry pricing policies, price levels, price changes, and differentials.

  • Changes in industry productions, capacity, or inventories.

  • Transportation rates or rate policies for individual shipments or for particular products, including basing point systems, zone prices and freight equalization.

  • Bids on contracts for particular products and procedures for responding to bid invitations.

  • Plans for individual companies concerning the design, production, distribution or marketing of particular products, including proposed territories or customers.

  • Matters relating to individual suppliers or customers that might have the effect of excluding them from any market.

If anybody raises any of these subjects and if nobody else objects and insists that the conversation be terminated immediately, you should object. If this does not terminate the conversation, you should leave the meeting. Before leaving, be sure to request that the minutes record that you left at this time because you considered the conversation improper. Then, at the first opportunity, report the incident to your lawyer.