Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC, DOJ extend comment period on Conditional Pricing Practices Workshop, (Jul 30, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The FTC and U.S. Department of Justice have extended the comment period for their June 23, 2014 workshop discussing the economic and policy implications of conditional pricing practices. Public comments may now be submitted through September 22, 2014.

The workshop, which was comprised of presentations and roundtable discussions, concentrated on “practices in which prices are explicitly or effectively contingent on commitments to purchase or sell a specified share or volume of a single product or a mix of multiple products.” Examples of conditional pricing practices include loyalty or bundled pricing. Workshop participants evaluated theoretical and empirical developments in the economic understanding of conditional pricing practices; considered developments in applicable case law; and discussed proper treatment of these practices under applicable antitrust laws.

“In many instances, conditional pricing practices save consumers money,” stated Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer in his opening remarks to workshop participants. “Most of us benefit from loyalty and bundled pricing in the retail setting.” Examples of beneficial conditional pricing practices include coffee cards that reward consumers for their loyalty with a free drink, or bundled pricing at fast food restaurants, where set meals are cheaper than purchasing the same items individually. “These are not the types of conditional pricing we worry about,” Baer commented. Rather, concerns arise “when a monopolist uses loyalty or bundled pricing to restrict competition and maintain its market power within a supply chain.”

Videos of the workshop and panelist slide presentations are available for public viewing here. Interested parties may submit public comments online through September 22, 2014.

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