Which of the following is a horizontal restraint of trade?
A) resale price maintenance
B) division of markets
C) unilateral refusal to deal
D) conscious parallelism

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Division of markets involves competitors agreeing to divide territories or customers among themselves, which limits competition and is considered a horizontal restraint of trade.

Answer A is a vertical restraint of trade, as it involves a supplier setting a minimum price for its downstream retailers or distributors.

Answer C is a unilateral decision not to do business with a particular party and does not involve coordination among competitors, so it is not a restraint of trade.

Answer D, conscious parallelism, refers to firms making independent decisions to follow pricing, output, or other business strategies that mirror their competitors, but without explicit coordination. It is not necessarily illegal, depending on the context and evidence of collusion.

Which of the Following Is a Horizontal Restraint of Trade