Word: cartelizing
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...share markets or rig prices in France, South Africa, Australia, Canada and the U.S., in order to stay clear of local antitrust rules. But whenever a member company learned of a potential order from an outside country-Japan, say, or Spain-it had to inform the secretariat. The cartel would then select a member to bid at a price it had set; to preserve appearances, another member would be chosen to bid at a higher price sure to be rejected. The cartel also imposed penalties on members. On one occasion, it ordered Gulfs Canadian subsidiary to buy 300 tons...
...with General Atomic to deliver more than 27 million Ibs. of uranium at set prices ranging from $9 to $14 per Ib. could be filled only at a huge loss. All the time, it now claims, officials of both Gulf and General Atomic, neither of which were formal cartel members, concealed their knowledge that Gulfs Canadian subsidiary was helping to drive prices up by participating in the cartel. United Nuclear now seeks not only to have the contracts voided but to collect damages of $2.27 billion from G.A. In a countersuit, General Atomic denies all allegations and asks that United...
...cartel's operations are being probed in other courtrooms too. In Richmond, Va., federal court, 15 of the nation's largest electric utilities are suing Westinghouse Electric, the nation's largest supplier of uranium to private industry. They seek to compel Westinghouse to honor contracts to deliver 65 million Ibs. of uranium at an average price of $10 per Ib. Doing so could cost Westinghouse as much as $2.6 billion. To avoid that loss, Westinghouse is using the same argument as United Nuclear, that it was victimized by the cartel. Meanwhile, Westinghouse has filed its own suit...
...suits raise two important questions: Did Gulf join the cartel willingly, despite its protestations that it was forced into the group by the Canadian government? And did the cartel's operations, even though they were confined to foreign markets, help to push up prices in the U.S.? If the courts decide that both answers are yes, Gulf would be open to antitrust prosecution by Washington, to private suits by any U.S. buyers of uranium who were hurt by the price blowup and even, conceivably, to suits by some of the 30 million-odd U.S. individuals and businesses that...
Considerable evidence already exists. During the past year, a federal grand jury, a House subcommittee and a New York State legislative office have been investigating the cartel's operations. They have turned up documents that tell an amazing tale of market rigging. The cartel-known as the Club to its members-was organized by the Canadian government, initially to prevent what in 1972 looked like an imminent drop in the price of one of Canada's most important export commodities. At the time, the world supply of uranium exceeded demand by 400%, according to some estimates...