price fixing agreement
Price fixing is an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors that raises, lowers, or stabilizes prices or competitive terms. Generally, the antitrust laws require that each company establish prices and other terms on its own, without agreeing with a competitor.
Types of Price Fixing. Agreement to raise prices: All competitors agree to raise prices of a product by a certain amount. A recent study of 75 such situations, Cartels as Rational Business Strategy: Crime Paysâ, found that they typically raise prices by 20%.