What does the The Robinson - Patman Act (1936) do

The Robinson-Patman Act (1936) is a federal law that prevents large companies from engaging in so-called “unfair methods of competition.” This Act was passed largely in response to the emergence of larger national chain stores and their ability to offer products at lower prices than regional or local stores. Specifically, the Act prohibits companies from offering discounts on products when selling them in interstate commerce (in other words, across state lines) if these discounts result in different prices for “substantially similar” products based on the buyers’ locations. In practice, this means that a company cannot charge consumers of different states different prices for the exact same item.