What is market allocation and how is it illegal?
Market allocation is a practice in which companies illegally divide and allocate different markets or territories between them. This illegal practice is often referred to as cartel behavior and is prohibited by antitrust law. This means that businesses cannot agree to share markets, as it restricts competition and reduces the choice available to customers. Market allocation can take many forms. For example, in many cases, businesses in the same industry limit their sales of a product to certain areas, preventing other businesses from entering the market. This means the market is only supplied by the existing companies, reducing competition and preventing customers from benefiting from low prices and a greater variety of products and services. In Washington, antitrust law prohibits any agreement between companies to restrict competition, including market allocation. This means that businesses cannot enter into agreements to limit their sales to particular regions or territories, nor can they agree to split the market between them. Doing so would result in a violation of anticompetitive laws and would lead to civil and even criminal penalties.
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