Anti-Trust Guidelines for Meetings

Because representatives of companies which compete with one another in the marketplace attend Steel Tube Institute sponsored meetings, the Steel Tube Institute has adopted guidelines and some general rules which shall be followed at all STI sponsored meetings.  Because some discussions, plans, agreements, strategies, etc., may be unlawful, care should be exercised when discussing business topics.  Initially agreements between or among competitors, vendors, customers, etc. should be scrutinized and normally referred to company corporate counsel for review before becoming an actual agreements.

The following are general areas and subjects which should be avoided at any STI meeting—

  • Current or future prices or components thereof (e.g. discounts rebates, credit terms);
  • Price lists or procedures for setting price changes;
  • Credit issues;
  • Identified individual company statistics, market shares, inventories, merchandising methods;
  • Sales statistics, production quotas, sales quotas;
  • Allocation or division of territories or customers among manufacturers, distributors or retailers
  • Any type of bid manipulation or agreements concerning bids;
  • Patent licensing or agreements/discussions on the validity of patents;
  • Boycotting any party or denying any party access to markets, products, product inputs or information;
  • Commercial practices of particular competitors or customers;
  • Credit information;
  • Warranties, guarantees or the particular terms and conditions of sales (e.g. credit, shipping and transportation arrangements, commercial liabilities);
  • Any type of agreement or suggestion that companies engage in trade abuses, excluding or controlling competition.                                                                                                           

Lest you think that you cannot talk about anything, you can talk about past pricing, product standards (e.g. U/L, ASTM, etc.), gather pricing and shipment statistics which are not specific company identified, product testing, pricing models (educational and not part of a concerted pricing practice), material advances, marketplace statistics (e.g. those published in trade journals, developed by reputable outside sources, etc.).  

Before engaging in any substantive discussion at this or any STI sponsored meeting or event, consult the meeting Chair if you have any questions.  

Last updated: May 06, 2021

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