Liquor Distributor Lawsuit Shows FTC Has Plenty of Fight Left

On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission sued Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, the largest beer and liquor distributor in the country, for charging small stores illegally high prices, inflating costs and stifling competition. This marks the first time in more than 20 years that a federal agency has enforced the Robinson-Patman Act. The lawsuit follows a massive court victory for the FTC on Tuesday in which a federal judge blocked a $25 billion grocery mega-merger after the agency sued.

The following is a statement from Emily Peterson-Cassin, Director of Corporate Power at Demand Progress Education Fund:

“Instead of heeding bad faith calls to disarm before the end of the year, the FTC is taking bold, needed action to fight back against monopoly power that’s raising prices. By suing Southern Glazer under the Robinson-Patman Act, a law that has gone unenforced for decades, the FTC is doing what our government should be doing: using every tool possible to make life better for everyday Americans.

The FTC has plenty of fight left and so should all regulatory agencies. We applaud the FTC and Chair Lina Khan for not letting off the gas in the race to protect American consumers and we strongly encourage all federal regulators to do the same while there’s still time left.”