The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a memorandum of understanding formalising a partnership to protect competition in key agricultural markets such as feed, fertiliser, fuel, seed, equipment, and other essential goods.
This partnership strengthens longstanding coordination between the agencies, with a particular focus on ensuring that farmers and ranchers have competitive access to agricultural inputs.
“Antitrust enforcement ensures free market competition for agricultural inputs, lowering costs for farmers and prices for consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “America’s farmers deserve nothing less than the best the Antitrust Division and USDA can do to promote competitive markets that free them to feed America.”
The MOU signed on September 26 by both agencies underscores their shared commitment to ensuring effective antitrust enforcement that promotes free market competition, lowers input costs, and benefits farmers, ranchers, and consumers.
It creates channels for regular consultation and communication between the agencies to ensure effective coordination, where appropriate, to benefit efforts to promote competition.
It commits both agencies to designate personnel to facilitate communication between and among attorneys, economists, and technical experts.
