This checklist states 2024 Scrap Expo policy to ensure compliance with antitrust laws and regulations during this event - including meetings, roundtables, seminars, and social gatherings. The Federal antitrust laws prohibit combinations in restraint of trade which occur whenever competitors within a field of business exchange information which has the purpose or effect of fixing, raising, maintaining, or stabilizing prices (or otherwise limiting competition). Should such a conspiracy in restraint of trade be found to occur at 2024 Scrap Expo / GIE Media (d.b.a. Recycling Today Media Group), its directors, its officers, and participating members would be held liable for substantial damages (including treble damages).
Thus, attendees are asked to meet the following requirements:
- Do not, in fact or appearance, discuss or exchange present or future price-related information, including:1
- Individual company prices, price differentials, markups, discounts, credit terms, marketing strategies, etc.;
- Individual company data on costs, production, capacity, inventories, sales, etc.;
- Transportation rates (particularly contract rates) for individual shipments;
- Company bids on contracts for particular materials, company procedures for responding to bid, etc.; and
- Matters relating to actual or potential individual suppliers or customers that might have the effect of excluding them from any market or influencing the business conduct of firms toward them.
- Contact your legal counsel if you have any questions about these guidelines or any other matter about your responsibilities under the law.
1 Although one can discuss historical pricing information, such as that published in the Wall Street Journal, or other widely circulated publication available to all interested members of the industry (as well as possible entrants to the market), all other discussion of price related information should be discouraged, even historical pricing. This is because price fixing conspiracies are typically proven by circumstantial evidence and the possibility is strong that a particular statement may be misinterpreted at a meeting or poorly remembered by a fellow member, who may then relate his "best recollection" to a jury.