The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five states reached a settlement with Deere & Company that requires the agricultural equipment maker to overhaul practices that limited farmers’ ability to repair their own machinery, the FTC announced Wednesday.
The agreement resolved an antitrust lawsuit the FTC and states filed against Deere last year, which alleged that the company’s policies restricted farmers and independent repair shops’ access to diagnostic software and other tools that were available only to authorized Deere dealers.
