Deal Reached on Rubber Price-fixing

DuPont Dow Elastomers has agreed to pay $36 million to settle claims from customers who say they were overcharged for polychloroprene. A spokeswoman says the settlement is still subject to court approval, adding that the firm continues to cooperate with a federal probe into price-fixing among polychloroprene and ethylene-propylene rubber producers. As these investigations continue, Crompton, which earlier received government amnesty for reporting price-fixing in urethanes, nitrile rubber, and ethylene-propylene rubber, is hoping for relief against treble damages in customer lawsuits. A bill awaiting President Bush's signature would eliminate treble damages for amnesty recipients and expose other participants in anticompetitive schemes to higher penalties than now provided by law.