288ADM observes that in the various proceedings before the United States courts relating to the lysine and citric acid cases, it has already paid more than USD 250 million on account of antitrust violations. The Commission should have taken that into account as an attenuating factor, as it has done in previous practice (Commission Decision 89/190/EEC of 21 December 1988 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (Case IV/31.865, PVC) (OJ 1989 L 74, P. 1).