Open Markets Condemns Partisan FTC’s Move to Withdraw Robinson-Patman Lawsuit Against PepsiCo.
Today, the partisan Federal Trade Commission voted to dismiss the Robinson Patman lawsuit against PepsiCo., the second major step toward federal revival of Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) enforcement after decades of deliberate neglect. Open Markets Legal Director Sandeep Vaheesan responded with the following statement:
“In January, the FTC laudably sued PepsiCo for granting special favors to large retailers, at the expense of their small and medium-sized rivals. The Robinson-Patman Act prohibits such preferential treatment of powerful retailers and stands against the proposition that might makes right in a fair and democratic economic system. The partisan FTC’s decision to withdraw the lawsuit is yet another example of the Trump administration siding with the largest corporations and against independent businesses. For all the commissioners’ rhetoric on following their constitutional obligation to enforce the law, this latest decision shows again that they are not willing to faithfully apply the law enacted by Congress.”
Open Markets describes the once independent FTC as “partisan” following the Trump administration’s illegal firing of Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter and has urged their reinstatement.
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The Open Markets Institute has written extensively on the benefits of the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA):
In 2023, we released two papers that make the case for the U.S. government to revive enforcement of the RPA in order to help build a fairer, more open, and more decentralized economy. Open Markets Legal Director Sandeep Vaheesan, Senior Legal Analyst Daniel Hanley, and Chief Economist Brian Callaci, write about how, in passing the RPA, “Congress sought to channel competition away from the use of buyer and financial power and toward economies of scale, fair prices and fair wages, and investment in new capacity. “Far from being outdated or irrational, the Robinson-Patman Act is highly relevant to today’s economy, in which buyer power is pervasive,” the paper reads.
A second, complementary paper by Daniel Hanley elucidates how Robinson-Patman enforcement strengthens economic liberties and democracy. The paper recommends six concrete steps federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) can take to gear up and once again enforce the RPA, including by carefully investigating potential violations and hearing directly from smaller producers and the public.
Open Markets Policy Director Phillip Longman wrote in The Washington Monthly that the decline in Robinson-Patman enforcement can be tied to “inflation, shortages, and inequality,” particularly for already-marginalized communities.
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