Booker, Gallego, Whitehouse Push Administration to Ensure Tariff Exemptions Actually Result in Lowering Grocery Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Andrew Ferguson questioning how the Commission is working to ensure grocery companies do not use this Administration's reckless tariff policies as cover for price gouging and that the recently announced tariff exemptions on coffee, bananas, cocoa, and other tropical products actually result in lower grocery prices.

"It was a necessary but late step to remove these tariffs. However, while eliminating these tariffs reduces costs for grocery importers, we are concerned that consumers may not see the full corresponding price decreases," the Senators wrote. "We are concerned that the highly concentrated grocery industry - combined with the Trump Administration's insufficient antitrust and consumer protection enforcement - creates a perfect storm that could enable giant grocery chains to engage in price gouging or other anti-competitive behavior."

To ensure President Trump's reckless trade policies are not a "green light" for price gouging, the Senators push the FTC to:

1. Require large grocery stores and food importers to report their costs and retail, and wholesale prices and the extent to which tariff reductions have decreased their costs.
2. Investigate and prosecute companies engaging in "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce."

Additionally, the Senators requested answers to the following questions:

1. How will you ensure President Trump's recent tariff removals do not result in sustained elevated prices?
2. What steps will the FTC take to enforce competition and consumer protection laws against individuals and corporations in the grocery and food industry that attempt to price gouge consumers?
3. If consumers have paid excessive prices for these goods since the tariff removals due to price gouging, what steps will the FTC take to ensure that consumers are made whole?

To view the full letter, click here.