US: SCOTUS to rule on weight of Chinese government evidence after vitamin C case

On Friday, January 12, the Supreme Court said it would hear an antitrust case involving price fixing by Chinese vitamin C makers, agreeing to decide whether US judges must defer to legal submissions made by the Chinese government.

The case goes back to 2005 when a lawsuit brought by vitamin C purchasers alleged that Chinese vitamin C makers were conspiring to fix prices and supplies in the US.

In a twist, the Chinese companies did not refute the allegations but instead insisted that their actions were required under Chinese regulations that directly address vitamin C export pricing.

Furthermore, China’s Ministry of Commerce moved to aid the Chinese vitamin C makers by filing a friend-of-the-court brief that urged dismissal of the lawsuit explaining that the companies’ actions were mandated by Chinese law and argued the lawsuit was an inappropriate interference with Chinese industrial policy.

In 2013, a Brooklyn court sided with the US vitamin purchasers, but in 2016 the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York sided with the Chinese companies.

Now, the Supreme Court will review the case.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.