ANTI-TRUST COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

• There is to be no discussion of pricing - past, present or future.
• Do not discuss your company's credit policy. (You cannot make statements such as: "At our company, what we do is" or "What we are going to do is...")
• Do not discuss your company's credit terms or conditions of sale. This includes: interest rates to be charged on past-due accounts; profit margins; discounts or allowances; production costs and expenses; transportation rates or costs; production or research and development; market areas or sources; product or packaging standardization.
• Do not exchange or collect information as to prospective prices, credit policies, terms or conditions of sale or production costs or plans.
• Do not participate in or give consideration to any activity which would restrict or interfere with the exercise of free and independent judgement by the members in the management or operation of their respective companies.
• Do not act in concert or agree with any respect to any of the foregoing topics, whether at an official meeting or function of a group or committee, or in private meetings or talks before and after official functions.
• All business and business related activities shall be transacted or discussed only at formal meetings and not in private conversations before or after the meeting.
• You may exchange current-factual-information relevant to the credit of accounts, based on actual experience or present knowledge. You should not share recommendations, opinions, or information received from a third party without substantiation.

Adherence to these principles is not only a matter of concern for the group, but also for self-protection. Although membership itself in an association found guilty of violation of the antitrust statutes is usually not sufficient to establish the liability of any member, the courts have held that if a member knows of or should have known that his associates in the group engage in unlawful activities, and he continues his membership without protesting, he and the company he represents may become liable; and the consequence of an antitrust violation is a felony, carrying up to a 10,000.00 fine plus treble damages.