[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 533 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 533

To exempt persons engaged in the fishing industry from certain Federal 
                            antitrust laws.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 1997

 Mr. Murkowski (for himself and Mr. Stevens) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To exempt persons engaged in the fishing industry from certain Federal 
                            antitrust laws.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fishing Industry Bargaining Act''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAWS.

    (a) The Act of June 25, 1934 (48 Stat. 1213 and 1214, chapter 742; 
15 U.S.C. 521 and 522) is amended--
            (1) in section 2, by striking ``If the Secretary'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to section 3, if the Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 3. PRICING.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 2, a price paid pursuant 
to a collective agreement entered into under subsection (b) shall not 
constitute a monopolization or restraint of trade in interstate or 
foreign commerce.
    ``(b) Collective Agreement.--Persons described in the first 
undesignated paragraph of section 1, acting through one or more 
associations described in that section, may enter into a collective 
agreement with fish processors, including fish processors acting 
through an association of fish processors, that establishes--
            ``(1) the price to be paid to those persons by fish 
        processors for an aquatic product; and
            ``(2) the minimum price that a fish processor may accept 
        for the sale of an aquatic product.
    ``(c) Rules of Construction.--
            ``(1) In general.--Nothing in this section is intended to 
        permit fish processors to collectively agree with other fish 
        processors on a price referred to in subsection (b)(1) without 
        entering into an agreement under subsection (b).
            ``(2) Federal antitrust laws.--The establishment and 
        implementation of a collective agreement under subsection (b) 
        shall not be construed to be a violation of any of the Federal 
        antitrust laws, including--
                    ``(A) the Act of July 2, 1890, commonly known as 
                the `Sherman Act' (26 Stat. 209 et seq., chapter 647; 
                15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);
                    ``(B) the Act of October 15, 1914, commonly known 
                as the `Clayton Act' (38 Stat. 730 et seq., chapter 
                323; 15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.);
                    ``(C) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
                41 et seq.); and
                    ``(D) the Act of June 19, 1936, commonly known as 
                the `Robinson-Patman Antidiscrimination Act' (49 Stat. 
                1526 et seq., chapter 592; 15 U.S.C. 13, 13a, 13b, 13c, 
                and 21a).''.
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