Japan auto parts firm Usui settles U.S. price-fixing allegations

Japanese auto parts maker Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha Ltd will plead guilty and pay a $7.2 million fine for fixing the prices of steel tubes sold to car makers, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Usui worked with other manufacturers to set prices and allocate customers for their steel tubes, which are used in fuel distribution, braking and other automotive systems, the Justice Department said.

The department said a total of 47 companies and 65 people have pleaded guilty or been charged with price fixing of auto parts during its long-running probe of the industry.

Attempts to reach Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha were unsuccessful.