The Biden administration is working to temper price gouging in the grocery industry, meat and poultry processing, and other related markets, and is soliciting both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as well as state attorneys general to work on the issue.
The effort, the Agriculture Competition Partnership, is a joint effort of 31 states, including the District of Columbia, and the USDA, and will be carried out through the Center for State Enforcement of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Laws, reports news source Roll Call.
The USDA will provide guidance and funding to state attorneys, which will allow them to take on cases and will help with research and academic work for future cases.
“By placing necessary resources where they are needed most and helping states identify and address anticompetitive and anti-consumer behavior, in partnership with federal authorities, through these cooperative agreements we can ensure a more robust and competitive agricultural sector," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
In June, the USDA announced a line of grants that will help regional meat and poultry processing capacity and competition.
Some Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce say the partnership is overreaching and could negatively impact the economy. Additionally, according to Roll Call some House Republicans have blocked the use of funds to finalize rules that would help farmers and ranchers in negotiations with meatpackers and poultry processors.
Grocery prices have remained relatively flat over the last two months, but they are still high. The food-at-home Consumer Price Index was up just 0.1% from April to May but was 5.8% higher than May 2022.
According to a recent government report, between August 2021 and August 2022, shoppers experienced the largest annual percentage increase in grocery food prices since the 1980s. The year-over-year increase was around 11% when it is normally 2%.
