Tire giant Bridgestone fined $425 mil for price fixing in U.S.

Broke US, trying to squeeze money from any company they can.

I'm glad they were dumb enough to do this in the US, not Japan, where simply bowing and a few crocodile tears would have got them off.

Broke US, trying to squeeze money from any company they can.

But Japanese companies make it so easy with their bid-rigging culture (it creates harmony, y'see, instead of competition discord).

Oh, a scamming, corrupt Japanese company. Who would've thought?

Broke US, trying to squeeze money from any company they can.

What a moronic thing to say. Fact is the U.S. Fair Trade Commission actually functions, and operates with a mandate to protect the consumers here, not like their Japanese counterpart that acts to protect Japan Inc. from any real competition. Which, given their training only in the Japanese market, many J-company executives cannot grasp. Notice you didn't see any U.S. car companies buying these parts at inflated prices.

The thing about Japanese companies that gets them caught is that they are so blatantly obvious about it. I guess they don't even know how to cover their tracks because it's just accepted business practice back home.

And I had a set of Bridgestone tires once. Never ever again.

There are few companies that don't 'price fix'. It's just the biggest usually get caught because the payout in court is worth the battle but this 'price rigging' is rampant in every imaginable market. MSRP or 'Open Price' is just another way of saying "THIS IS THE PRICE!!!" Resellers/Competitors/Importer/Exporters that don't play along find themselves outside looking in and then if it stings enough you hear about it in the news when a lawsuit comes to be.

Jerseyboy

Fact is the U.S. Fair Trade Commission actually functions, and operates with a mandate to protect the consumers here,

Oh ok so where were these shinning knights prior to the banking shambles leading into in 2008 ?

You can read almost weekly of a Japanese company getting fined and/or directors going to prison in the states recently, if I didn't know better I would almost think it is a concerted effort to hammer Japanese companies, but the real fact is that the practises in japan don't translate well into the real world hence they become easy targets because lets face it people they are cheating

The Japanese corporations will never learn, when they have money such as that to pay a fine, that crime does not pay.

@StormR

The banking crisis wasn't a monopoly or issue of free/fair trade, more of a relaxation of standards (think moral hazard/adverse selection). Therefore, doesn't apply to what you said.

Also, companies will always have a level of corruption. I would think that because the Japanese companies are getting fined, the regulators are actually doing a decent job of keeping them in check. Looking at China, I'm sure we can all agree that the rampant corruption, unethical practices, and shadow banking system dwarf much of the corruption in the developed world.

This is not first time Japanese part makers in USA got caught price fixing Japanese auto manufacturers in USA. Well, USA hardly have USA manufacturers so usually Japanese part Makers cheat Japan Inc. USA. .

Toshiko, not exactly sure what you want to say but, Bridgestone is not the first Japanese or non US company trying to price fix in the USA. A few months a bunch of Indian doctors in the USA were arrested too! These so called doctors were trying to sell and I think price fix the medicine etc..they were selling in the USA, my guess that is normal back in India??

Ebuda: The article is recent Bridgestone and its illegal PF case/ Bridgestone was prosecuted several years ago, too.

In the United States, price fixing can be prosecuted as a criminal federal offense under section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act

Criminal prosecutions may only be handled by the U.S. Department of Justice, but the Federal Trade Commission also has jurisdiction for civil antitrust violations. Many State Attorneys General also bring antitrust cases and have antitrust offices, such as Virginia, New York, and California.

Private individuals or organizations may file lawsuits for triple damages for antitrust violations, and depending on the law, recover attorneys fees and costs expended on prosecution of a case.

Under American law, exchanging prices among competitors can also violate the antitrust laws. This includes exchanging prices with either the intent to fix prices or if the exchange affects the prices individual competitors set. Proof that competitors have shared prices can be used as part of the evidence of an illegal price fixing agreement. Experts generally advise that competitors avoid even the appearance of agreeing on price.

Since 1997, US Courts have divided price fixing into two categories: vertical and horizontal maximum price fixing. Vertical price fixing includes a manufacturer's attempt to control the price of its product at retail. In State Oil Co. v. Khan the US Supreme Court held that vertical price fixing is no longer considered a per se violation of the Sherman Act, but horizontal price fixing is still considered a breach of the Sherman Act. Also in 2008, the defendants of United States v LG Display Co., United States v. Chunghwa Picture Tubes, and United States v. Sharp Corporation heard in the Northern District of California, agreed to pay a total sum of $ 585 million to settle their prosecutions for conspiring to fix prices of liquid crystal display panels, which was the second largest amount awarded under the Sherman Act in history

7In Canada, it is an indictable criminal offense under section 45 of the Competition Act. Bid rigging is considered a form of price fixing and is illegal in both the United States (s.1 Sherman Act) and Canada (s.47 Competition Act). In the United States, agreements to fix, raise, lower, stabilize, or otherwise set a price are illegal per se. It does not matter if the price agreed upon is reasonable or for a good or altruistic cause or if the agreement is unspoken and tacit. In the United States, price-fixing also includes agreements to hold prices the same, discount prices (even if based on financial need or income), set credit terms, agree on a price schedule or scale, adopt a common formula to figure prices, banning price advertising, or agreeing to adhere to prices that one announces. Although price fixing usually means sellers agreeing on price, it can also include agreements among buyers to fix the price at which they will buy products.

You understand What I wrote?

toshiko Wonderful answer.

I have to read this here. In US it is not news if it does not sell.

Toshiko @ Elbudo Mexicano "Do you understand what I wrote" LMAO thats is too far over his head. I dont think so can you repeat that? No comprehende! Toshiko mi amigo