Harris Proposes Crackdown On 'Price-gouging' By Grocery Stores
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One of Vice President Kamala Harris's key goals is to impose a federal ban on "corporate price-gouging," particularly in the food and grocery sectors.
CNBC reported that this was revealed by the vice president's team on Wednesday.
"There's a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business," her campaign stated. Harris also noted that Americans can see this "difference in their grocery bills."
The proposed ban is part of a broader economic platform that she plans to unveil in North Carolina on Friday.
Harris has also pledged that, if elected president, she would direct her administration to increase scrutiny of potential mergers between food producers and supermarkets.
She specifically highlighted the risk that such mergers could lead to higher grocery prices for consumers.
It's worth noting that before President Joe Biden exited the race, he spent over a year campaigning for reelection and similarly blamed corporate greed for rising consumer prices, exacerbated by inflation.
Harris's plan remains in line with Biden's approach, which prioritizes consumer protection and opposes large corporate mergers.
The Washington Post reported that the exact details of her plan have not yet been disclosed. However, Harris stated that she intends to implement the price-gouging ban within her first 100 days in office.
In March, the White House launched the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, a joint effort between the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department.
On Friday, Harris is expected to focus specifically on the meat industry. A statement from her campaign notes that "soaring meat prices have accounted for a large part of Americans' higher grocery bills, even as meat processing companies reported record-breaking profits following the pandemic."
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