[inline_image file=”84fd9de1979ff35695eb0f37558d353f.jpg” caption=”Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)”]
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced S.3404 on Wednesday, Aug. 29. The bill—titled The Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2018—seeks to impose an 18-month moratorium on mergers of agribusinesses and foreign purchases of agricultural companies or facilities. The bill would additionally create a commission to “review large agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing, and grocery retail mergers, concentration, and market power.”
According to Booker, “Consolidation has now reached a point where the top four firms in almost every sector of the food and agriculture economy have acquired abusive levels of market power. As a result, the U.S. is losing farmers at an alarming rate, agricultural jobs and wages are drying up, and rural communities are disappearing. These challenges can be mitigated by more active use of our antitrust laws and allowing an opportunity for U.S. farmers and ranchers to compete in fair and open markets.”
The introduction of the bill was heralded by R-CALF, with CEO Bill Bullard commenting, “Our members have long believed that the ongoing trend of mega-mergers and acquisitions by foreign entities is severely reducing competition and jeopardizing our nation’s food security and food safety.”
