“Large companies operating in the United States have, since the beginning of 2000, paid $96 billion in fines and settlements to resolve allegations of covert price-fixing and related anti-competitive practices in violation of antitrust laws,” the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First wrote in a press release announcing a new report. “Illegal pricing conspiracies have occurred in a wide range of industries, affecting the cost of products ranging from everyday grocery items and auto parts to life-saving medications and electronic components. In industries such as financial services and pharmaceuticals, just about every major corporation (or a subsidiary) has been a defendant, often more than once. Banks, credit card companies and investment firms dominate the top tier, accounting for nine of the 10 most penalized corporations by total dollars. These are the key findings of Conspiring Against Competition, a report published today by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First, a non-profit research center focused on corporate accountability. The report … draws on data collected from government agency announcements and court records for inclusion in the Violation Tracker database. ‘Large corporations which are supposed to be competing with one another are often secretly conspiring to set prices,’ said Philip Mattera, research director of Good Jobs First and author of the report. ‘In doing so, they cause economic harm to consumers and contribute to inflation.” …
“Of the $96 billion in penalties, over one-third ($33 billion) was paid by banks and investment firms, mainly to resolve claims that they schemed to rig interest-rate benchmarks such as LIBOR. The second most penalized industry, at $11 billion, is pharmaceuticals, due largely to owners of brand-name drugs accused of illegally conspiring to block the introduction of lower-cost generic alternatives. Price-fixing happens most frequently in business-to-business transactions, though the higher costs are often passed on to consumers. Apart from finance and pharmaceuticals, the industries high on the penalty list include:
- electronic components ($8.6 billion in penalties)
- automotive parts ($5.3 billion)
- power generation ($5 billion)
- chemicals ($3.9 billion)
- healthcare services ($3.5 billion)
- freight services ($3.4 billion)
