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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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Trade Commission Nominee Wants to Look Closer into Ag Mergers
USAgNet - 02/16/2018
The Federal Trade Commission would take a close look at deals approved by past leadership to determine if regulators went too easy on companies. At least that's the promise of Joseph Simons, the White House's nominee for FTC chairman, reports Pro Ag's
Liz Crampton. During a Senate Commerce confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Simons, said that, if confirmed, he would direct a formal study of closed deals, including some in the agriculture industry.
POLITICO reports that Simons also said he would police the conduct of big agribusinesses. If illegal behavior comes to the agency's attention, he pledged to sue.
Consolidation in agriculture has been coming at a rapid clip, and U.S. regulators have mostly waived these deals through. If the federal government decides to take a more aggressive stance based on information gathered from any potential FTC's merger study,
it would mark a new era of antitrust policy under Republicans. (Simons, co-chairman of the antitrust group at the law firm Paul Weiss is a former FTC antitrust official during the George W. Bush administration.)
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who questioned Simons during the Wednesday hearing, said he, too, was worried about how consolidation had hurt farmers.
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