Editing Robinson–Patman Act (section)

{{short description|1936 US law prohibiting price discrimination}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Competition law}}
The '''Robinson–Patman Act''' ('''RPA''') of 1936 (or '''Anti-Price Discrimination Act''', Pub. L. No. 74-692, 49 Stat. 1526 (codified at {{usc|15|13}})) is a [[United States federal law]] that prohibits anticompetitive practices by producers, specifically [[price discrimination]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelley |first=Pearce C. |date=1937 |title=The Robinson-Patman Act and Unfair Competition |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42879395 |journal=The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=54–63 |issn=0276-1742}}</ref> 

Co-sponsored by Senator [[Joseph T. Robinson]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[Arkansas|AR]]) and Representative [[Wright Patman]] (D-[[Texas|TX]]), it was designed to protect small retail shops against competition from chain stores by fixing a minimum price for retail products. Specifically, the law prevents suppliers, wholesalers, or manufacturers from supplying goods to "preferred customers" at a reduced price. It also prevents coercing suppliers into restrictions as to whom they can and can't sell goods.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Robinson-Patman Act {{!}} Definition, Price Discrimination, & Small Businesses|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Robinson-Patman-Act|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=15 U.S. Code § 13 - Discrimination in price, services, or facilities|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/13|access-date=2021-05-10|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}}</ref>  This means that it is illegal for a supplier to sell one truckload of goods at a steep discount to a large business, such as [[Walmart]] or [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], and then charge a substantially higher price for a truckload of identical goods to a small business, such as a local grocery store.<ref name="Mitchell" />

The law grew out of business practices in which [[chain store]]s were allowed to purchase goods at lower prices than other [[retail]]ers.  The amendment to the [[Clayton Antitrust Act]] prevented unfair price discrimination for the first time by requiring a seller to offer the same price terms to customers at a given level of trade. The RPA provided for criminal penalties but contained a specific exemption for "[[cooperative|cooperative associations]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shanpo |first1=G.N. |last2=Van Susteren |first2=M.H. |title=The Special Position, if Any, of Cooperatives under the Robinson-Patman Act |journal=Wisconsin Law Review |date=1950 |page=119}}</ref> Enforcement of the RPA's provisions began to decline beginning in the 1980s.<ref name=":0" />