May 20, 2022

US Federal Trade Commission urged to investigate beef firms for price fixing

US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mike Rounds have introduced a bipartisan resolution urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate major US beef firms for alleged price fixing, Reuters reported.

The US government is looking to hold major US meat firms responsible for rising food prices, which critics say it is because beef production in the country is controlled by four big companies: Cargill, Tyson Foods Inc, Brazil-based JBS SA, and National Beef Packing Co.

The US senators used a 1914 law that allows the president or Congress to order the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potential antitrust breaches. Since the 1920s, the rule has not been employed.

According to the most recent statistics from the US Department of Agriculture, the four firms slaughter roughly 85% of grain-fattened US cattle used to make steaks, beef roasts, and other kinds of meat for customers in 2018.

The companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment, although they have previously denied that price increases are caused by consolidation.

Price fixing in the poultry processing business is already being investigated by the US Department of Justice.

Angela Huffman, co-founder and vice president of Farm Action, a policy and advocacy group that sponsored the resolution, said Congress should utilise all available tools to combat monopolistic abuses.

-      Reuters