Brussels, 14/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - the Commission has carried out random inspections of fourteen companies in an investigation into two agreements in the plastics sector. Raids took place in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. The Commission explained that the cartels were operating on a world scale and it was working closely with the Japanese, Canadian and US authorities. Proceedings will focus on heat stabilisers, shock absorbers and production aid used in the PVC manufacturing process. The Commission suspects that the companies have illegal agreements on price fixing and market share. The names of the companies involved have not been revealed but some have admitted that they are being investigated: Atofina, the French company TotalFinaElf) and its British subsidiary Akcros. On the other side of the Atlantic, Rohm and Haas indicated that they had been in contact with the authorities "from more than one country" in relation to the investigations into the plastics sector. The company stressed that it would be fully co-operating.
The Reuters agency indicated that the Japanese anti-trust authorities had confirmed the opening of an investigation on 12 February into three national plastics manufactures: Mitsubishi Rayon, Kureha Chemical Industry and Kaneka.