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ARTICLE · 09 NOVEMBER 2026

U.S. Antitrust Enforcement Puts Price Discrimination In The Spotlight

A&O Shearman
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The FTC's recent enforcement actions signal a revival of the Robinson-Patman Act after decades of dormancy. With settlements involving Southern Glazer's and Gildan, businesses face renewed scrutiny over price discrimination practices that favor large buyers over smaller competitors.

United StatesAntitrust/Competition Law
Noah Brumfield
Noah Brumfield
Harlan Rosenson
Harlan Rosenson
Andrew Shaeffer
Andrew Shaeffer
Louise Tolley
Louise Tolley
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This month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) resolved two price-discrimination matters under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA). The cases signal that the previously long-dormant statute retains real teeth under the second Trump administration.

Revival of the RPA

In December 2024, we discussed the outgoing Biden administration’s effort to resuscitate the RPA after nearly 25 years of dormancy. 

The RPA generally prohibits selling goods of the same “grade and quality” to different commercial buyers at disparate prices unless the difference is justified, for example, by differences in the cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery.

Despite the federal government’s mandate to enforce this broad prohibition on business-to-business price discrimination, the last federal RPA action before 2024, against McCormick and Company, was resolved in 2000. 

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