In a controversial move, USDA to bolster meatpacker antitrust enforcement
Published 7:00 am Thursday, June 17, 2021
WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Agriculture says it will begin work on three proposals to strengthen its enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Trending
The 100-year-old law was designed to protect poultry, hog and cattle producers from unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive practices in meat markets.
The Packers and Stockyards Act is a vital tool for protecting farmers and ranchers, but it needs to take into account modern market dynamics and should not be used as a safe haven for bad actors, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday in announcing the proposed action.
USDA intends to take three actions related to rulemaking in the months ahead. First is to propose a new rule to provide greater clarity to strengthen enforcement of unfair and deceptive practices, undue preference and unjust prejudices. Second is to propose a new poultry grower tournament system rule. Third is to re-propose a rule to clarify parties do not need to demonstrate harm to competition to bring legal action against a meatpacker.
Trending
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said in a statement USDA’s announcement signals the start of a lengthy process, not the conclusion.
“We don’t yet have language for proposed rules, and we don’t expect to see specifics from USDA for some time”, said Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO.
“But we are actively engaging with the agency to get more information and make sure that the needs of our members are front and center in the administration’s thought process,” he said.
NCBA will fight hard to ensure that any regulations created or revised do not reduce cattle producers’ ability to realize higher profits and make the decisions that are best for their business, he said.
NCBA is particularly concerned with cattle producers’ ability to use alternative marketing arrangements, which represent value-added opportunities.
The North American Meat Institute issued a statement saying these sorts of proposals in the past have been opposed by many livestock producers and Congress.
The National Farmers Union welcomed the announcement, saying the Packers and Stockyards Act lacks the teeth to achieve its intended objectives and proposed reforms are a step in the right direction.
The Farm Action Alliance also welcomed the announcement, contending USDA can’t rein in abusive corporate monopolies without new, strong regulations.
“Past failures to adequately strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act left the regulatory environment a safe haven for huge corporations to grow and consolidate power,” said Joe Maxwell, president of the alliance.
The Organization for Competitive Markets said the proposed rule in regard to competitive injury is the most needed reform.
“This regulation would clarify that parties do not need to demonstrate harm to competition in order to initiate legal action,” said Mike Eby, the organization’s executive director.