Rubber price-fixing
Five major chemical companies were caught colluding on prices once again. A cartel made up of American-based firms Dow and DuPont, Germany's Bayer, Italy's Eni, and Japan's Tosoh was convicted of fixing prices for chloroprene. Chloroprene is a kind of synthetic latex rubber is used in such products as hoses, transmission belts, condoms and shoes.
The European commission fined the companies over $300 million for the cartel, which reportedly operated from 1992 to 2003. The participants allegedly met together to discuss prices on a regular basis.
This is not the first case of price-fixing in the rubber industry. In 2005, Bayer, US-based Chemtura, and Spain's Reposl Quimica were all fined for a cartel dealing in the rubber used to make tires. In 2006, Eni, Dow, Bayer, and Royal Dutch Shell were fined for another rubber-related cartel (styrene butadiene).
Bayer, which is managing to lessen its own fines, has been blowing the whistle on these deals.
The European Commission has been going on an anti-cartel rampage, with 2007 showing the largest number of fines to date. We assume the same collusion is going on the US market, so where are the US regulators?
well, the good news is that have found yet another cartel, namely Japan's Bridgestone and Yokohama Rubber, UK-based Dunlop Oil & Marine, France's Trelleborg , and Italy's Parker ITR and Manuli Rubber Industries. These companies conspired to fix the price of marine hoses, and have been fines by the FTC.
And that's what has been discovered.
5:37:42 PM 
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