Grassley Wants More USDA Merger Authority

March 17, 2000

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) wants USDA to be on a more equal footing with the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission when it comes to reviewing agriculture-related mergers. USDA would submit recommendations to Justice and FTC under a Grassley bill.

USDA also have broad authority to outlaw unfair methods of competition in agriculture, including companies that provide inputs and/or outputs. USDA would be able to challenge an agribusiness merger if it believes it would cause substantial harm to the ability of farmers to compete in the market.

Among the bill's provisions:

--The USDA chief economist and a new special counsel for antitrust matters in the USDA Office of General Counsel would conduct an analysis of a merger to determine if it would have a negative impact on the ability of farmers and small producers to compete;

--USDA would submit recommendations to Justice and FTC, including suggested limits or conditions on a merger, and would conduct negotiations with the merging parties to determine whether they can address USDA concerns;

--Justice and FTC would have to provide USDA with a formal response on whether they agree with USDA's findings;

--If USDA was not satisfied with the outcome of the Justice-FTC review or of conditions placed on the merger, USDA could challenge the merger in federal court.