Anti-trust Statement

It is the policy of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) to comply strictly with Federal and State antitrust laws and to encourage its members to act in compliance with both the letter and spirit of the laws.

Antitrust laws prohibit conspiracies in restraint of trade so that competitors may not legally agree to conduct business that inhibits competition. Anticompetitive agreements may be inferred from discussions about sensitive topics.  Because associations like AOSCA bring independent agencies together to address industry issues, we must be especially careful not to agree to actions that might be interpreted as anticompetitive.

In general, it is permissible to discuss industry-wide issues and concerns, exchange publicly available information about the industry, promote the seed industry, and to discuss and develop seed certification and other AOSCA program standards and procedures affecting the industry.

It is generally not appropriate to discuss current or future prices for products or services offered by member agencies, or other competitively sensitive data. It is AOSCA policy to have written agendas for all meetings and to prepare minutes of all meetings. If members have questions about the proper scope of any AOSCA meeting or the Association’s antitrust compliance policy, they should raise it with the meeting chairperson or a member of AOSCA’s Board of Directors or its staff.