Antitrust and Trade Regulation laws aim to promote free competition in the marketplace. Agreements or cooperative efforts by two or more entities that affects or restrains competitors is illegal under these laws. The Sherman Act makes illegal any contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce and makes monopolies and attempts, combinations, or conspiracies to monopolize illegal. The Clayton Act regulate price discrimination, tying and exclusive dealing contracts, stock acquisition and interlocking directorates.
Piedmont is a census-designated place (CDP) along the Saluda River in Anderson and Greenville counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 4,684 at the 2000 census. The Greenville County portion of Piedmont is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Anderson County portion is part of the Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area.