Corning avoids EU antitrust nice by ending unique offers with cellphone producers

Corning, the US-based glass producer behind Gorilla Glass, has vowed to finish its unique offers and different practices that the European Fee deemed to be anti-competitive so as to keep away from getting fined. In the event you’ll recall, the fee announced that it was investigating Corning final yr, accusing it of squashing competitors with its unique provide agreements, thereby driving up costs and stifling innovation. Now, the fee has accepted the commitments Corning supplied and made them legally binding underneath the EU’s guidelines.

When the fee introduced its investigation, it mentioned Corning required cell phone producers to supply all or almost all of their Alkali-AS glass (marketed as Gorilla Glass) wants from the corporate, even ganting them rebates. Below its settlement with the fee, Corning has to “waive all unique dealing clauses in all its present agreements” with cellphone producers and corporations that course of uncooked glass. Corning additionally will not be allowed to enter unique offers sooner or later.

As well as, Corning cannot require producers or any of their suppliers to buy any amount of Alkali-AS Glass from it within the European Financial Space. Worldwide, Corning cannot require producers and their suppliers to buy greater than 50 p.c of their wants from the corporate. Corning’s dedication will stay in power for 9 years, and a trustee will monitor the corporate’s actions to make sure its compliance.

As Reuters has famous, EU fines might price firms as a lot as 10 p.c of their income, however Corning did not must pay something. “The European Fee’s investigation has been settled with no nice, no discovering of wrongdoing by Corning, and no materials affect to the corporate’s Gorilla Glass enterprise or the corporate at giant,” the Gorilla Glass-maker advised Bloomberg in an announcement.