PUBLISHER: The Load Star (www.theloadstar.com)
The anglosphere “Five Eyes” nations have widened their intelligence gathering to investigate supply chain collusion.
Amid soaring consumer prices and unprecedented supply chain disruption, competition authorities from the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have formed a working group to “put firms on notice” over suspected anti-competitive behaviour, collusion, and “using Covid as an opportunity for cartel conduct”.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the agencies were concerned that “some unscrupulous businesses could take advantage of the disruptions to engage in anti-competitive collusion and practices that cheat other businesses and ultimately consumers”.
Michael Grenfell, CMA’s executive director of enforcement, said: “While price rises can be legitimate, the CMA would be concerned if collusive anti-competitive practices are contributing to these rises or preventing prices from coming down.