Gentlemen's agreement

A gentlemen's agreement or gentleman's agreement is an informal and legally non-binding between two or more parties. It is typically oral, though it may be written, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties for its fulfillment, rather than being in any way enforceable. It is, therefore, distinct from a legal agreement or contract, which can be enforced if necessary.

The phrase appears in British Parliamentary records of 1821, and in Massachusetts public records of 1835. The Oxford English Dictionary cites P. G. Wodehouse's 1929 story collection Mr Mulliner Speaking as the first appearance of the term.

A gentleman's agreement, defined in the early 20th century as "an agreement between gentlemen looking toward the control of prices," was reported by one source to be the loosest form of a "pool". These types of agreements have been reported to be found in every type of industry, and are numerous in the steel and iron industries.

A report from the United States House of Representatives detailing their investigation of the United States Steel Corporation asserted that there were two general types of loose associations or consolidations between steel and iron interests in the 1890s, in which the individual concerns retained ownership as well as a large degree of independence: the "pool" and the "gentleman's agreement". The latter type lacked any formal organization to regulate output or prices, nor did they contain any provisions for forfeiture in the event of an infraction. The efficacy of the agreement relied on members to keep informal pledges.

In the automotive industry, Japanese manufacturers agreed that no production car would have more than 276 bhp (206 kW; 280 PS); this agreement ended in 2005. German manufacturers limit the top speed of high-performance saloons (sedans) and station wagons to 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph). When the Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle exceeded 310 km/h (190 mph) in 1999 and fears of a European ban or regulatory crackdown led Japanese and European motorcycle makers to agree to a limit of 300 km/h (186 mph) in late 1999.See List of fastest production motorcycles.

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