Press Release: 4/15/2026
Amid Trump’s War Driving Up Costs, Warren and Schumer Lead Democrats in Pressing Trump Admin to Crack Down on Big Food, Ag Price Fixing Squeezing Americans
Washington, D.C. — As President Trump’s war in Iran drives up food costs for American families and small businesses, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Minority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) led a group of four senators in pressing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to crack down on food and agriculture companies engaging in grocery price fixing. The senators pressed the administration to lower costs for Americans by taking action to stop anticompetitive practices in the food supply chain and predatory pricing behavior, including breaking up illegal monopolies.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) signed onto the letter, which comes as oil, fertilizer, and other costs continue to surge as President Trump’s war in Iran continues into its seventh week — making the need for action even more urgent.
In December 2025, President Trump issued an executive order purportedly aimed at investigating “price fixing and anti-competitive behavior in the food supply chain.”
“[T]he Administration has yet to take any meaningful action to tackle consolidation and bring down food and farm input prices, which continue to squeeze farmers, small businesses, and consumers…Now, more than ever, it is time for the Administration to get serious about addressing these problems,” wrote the senators.
Despite President Trump’s promises to bring down prices “on Day One,” Americans saw their grocery bills rise faster than overall inflation last year, leading them to pay an average of $310 more for groceries compared to 2024. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to Donald Trump’s illegal war in Iran has effectively halted the shipment of one third of global fertilizer supplies, leading to higher fertilizer prices for farmers that are expected to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher grocery prices.
Instead of working to lower costs, the Trump administration has undermined antitrust enforcement in the food and agricultural industries, including by forcing out the DOJ’s top antitrust official and closing the FTC’s investigation into surveillance pricing even after an initial reportfound that retailers frequently use people’s personal data to tailor prices for goods and services.
“Excessive consolidation and anticompetitive practices by dominant firms are also major drivers of these price increases,” wrote the senators.
Consolidation in the fertilizer and seed markets, which are similarly dominated by just a handful of companies, are also driving up prices for farmers and American families. Giant food retailers and suppliers continue to engage in exclusionary contracting practices (such as slotting fees, category captain arrangements, and volume-based rebates) and discrimination.
The senators called for the DOJ and FTC to take the following specific actions to take on retailers’ and suppliers’ anticompetitive practices:
- Crack down on violations of antitrust laws by giant corporations in the meatpacking, seed, fertilizer, and farm equipment sectors, including by breaking up these dominant companies;
- Scrutinize and, where appropriate, block anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions in the food and agricultural sectors; and
- Issue enforcement guidance on potential violations of the Robinson-Patman Act and investigate and take enforcement action where merited.
The senators also called on the FTC to:
- Pursue rulemaking and enforcement action to tackle exclusionary contracting practices by corporations; and
- Reopen its investigation into surveillance pricing and new rules and enforcement actions to address exploitative surveillance and dynamic pricing practices.
The lawmakers pressed for answers by April 27, 2026.