Independent grocers urge candidates to support FTC antitrust action

The National Grocers Association, which represents independent grocery stores, is part of a Mainstream Competition Coalition urging the presidential candidates to “support an economic policy agenda that strengthens antitrust laws and puts an end to anticompetitive economic discrimination against small and medium sized businesses.”The coalition sent letters to Vice President Harris and former President Trump explaining their views. In a news release, the National Grocers Association said, “The MSCC is a coalition of main street businesses and agriculture producers that are committed to promoting competition and strengthening antitrust policies, especially reviving enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA).””The RPA is a 90-year-old law that prohibits price discrimination, but has been ignored by antitrust enforcers for decades allowing bad actors to get away with undermining their competitors and consumers,” the group said.

“For nearly 40 years, Robinson-Patman enforcement was abandoned, allowing monopolist firms to leverage their economic power to insulate themselves from competition,” commented Chris Jones, the National Grocers Association’s chief government relations officer and counsel.”Industry consolidation and lax antitrust enforcement has decimated Main Street and left millions of American consumers with fewer options and higher prices,” Jones said.”If either candidate wants to help the financial wellbeing of American families and entrepreneurs, they will commit to supporting an economic agenda that strengthens and enforces the antitrust laws that are designed to allow businesses of all sizes to compete fairly,” Jones said.

“Fortunately, the FTC is finally taking this bad behavior seriously and is reportedly moving closer towards enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act,” the letter states.”Just the threat of enforcement is beginning to have a positive impact for some MSCC members … [and] the FTC’s historic lawsuit to address the anticompetitive behaviors of pharmacy benefit managers is a critical first step to restoring competition to the pharmacy marketplace …”But this progress is not enough — bold and aggressive antitrust enforcement is needed to enhance competition across all industries.”

–The Hagstrom Report