US to clarify application of antitrust laws in meat sector By Reuters

By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) – U.S. livestock producers would have a clearer path to file antitrust complaints against meatpacking companies for unfair trade practices under a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.

The proposed rule is the fourth introduced by President Joe Biden's administration to boost competition in the highly consolidated meatpacking industry.

The previous rules would require fairer wages for chicken farmers, improve transparency in poultry contracts, and prohibit retaliation against chicken farmers for raising concerns about anti-competitive behavior.

Tuesday's proposed rule would clarify how farmers and ranchers must prove they have been harmed by meatpackers' alleged anticompetitive behavior and allow the USDA to better enforce antitrust laws, the agency said in a news release.

“Engrained market power and the abuses that flow from it continue to be an obstacle to achieving lower prices for consumers and fairer practices for producers,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “Today's proposed rule advocates clear and transparent rules so that markets function fairly and competitively for both consumers and producers.”

Farmers have argued that current regulations set the bar too high for proving they have been harmed by anticompetitive behavior, hampering their ability to appeal to the USDA.

“Farmers have long deserved this certainty,” said Sarah Carden, director of policy research and development at Farm Action, a farmer advocacy group.

The North American Meat Institute, a trade group, said in a statement that the rule would expose meatpackers to litigation and uncertainty.

“Under these proposed rules, everyone loses — the livestock producer, the packer and ultimately the consumer,” Julie Anna Potts, the group's president and CEO, said in the statement.

The proposed rule will be open to public comment for 60 days.