Cartel

Cartel

A cartel is a group of apparently independent producers whose goal is to increase their collective profits by means of price fixing, limiting supply, or other restrictive practices. Cartels typically control selling prices, but some are organized to control the prices of purchased inputs. Antitrust laws attempt to deter or forbid cartels. A single entity that holds a monopoly by this definition cannot be a cartel, though it may be guilty of abusing said monopoly in other ways. Cartels usually occur in oligopolies, where there are a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products. In general, cartels can be divided into domestic and international agreements. Export cartels constitute a special case of international cartels. Unlike other cartels they are legal in virtually all jurisdictions, despite their harmful effects on affected markets.Bid rigging is a special type of cartel.

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