Which piece of legislation governs price fixing in the United States?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To tackle this question, I’ll evaluate what each listed law generally covers and see which one specifically governs price fixing.
Option 1: Robinson-Patman Act. This statute focuses on price discrimination among different buyers. It prohibits certain discriminatory pricing practices that lessen competition, but it does not establish the framework for price fixing itself. This makes it an incorrect choice for the broad question of price fixing governance.
Option 2: Clayton Act. The Clayton Act addresses anticompetitive practices such as mergers, exclusive dealing, and certain types of price-related conduct, but it is more about preventing anticompetitive effects of specific actions rather than declaring price fixing per se. While it complements antitrust enforcement, it is not the statute primarily described as governing price fixing.
Option 3: Federal Trade Commission Act. This act created the Federal Trade Commission and prohibits unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices. It covers enforcement against a wide range of anti-competitive behaviors, but it does not single out price fixing as the primary or foundational prohibition. Therefore, it is not the best characterization of price fixing governance.
Option 4: Sherman Antitrust Act. This is the foundational antitrust statute in the United States. Section 1 explicitly prohibits restraints of trade and combinations that unreasonably restrain competition, which includes certain forms of price fixing among competitors. This is the core law historically and legally associated with prohibiting price fixing.
In summary, price fixing is most directly governed by the Sherman Antitrust Act, with its focus on prohibiting restraints of trade and anticompetitive agreements among competitors. The other laws address related antitrust concerns, such as price discrimination, mergers, unfair competition, or unfair practices, but do not centrally define price fixing as a per se or core prohibited practice.

Which piece of legislation governs price fixing in the United States?

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