US Agriculture Department to Target High Food Costs, Increase Competition
2023-07-20
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1The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it aims to lower food prices and increase competition among agricultural businesses.
2The department plans to work with 31 states and the District of Colombia to target unfair price-setting activities.
3It also plans to act against anticompetitive behavior in the food and agriculture sectors.
4On Wednesday, the USDA said it would work with a group of attorneys from both political parties.
5It aims to enforce laws on price fixing and the consolidation of businesses.
6The government says farmers have been unhappy about low prices for their products and unfair contracts with the biggest buyers and processors in the agriculture industry.
7Months of rising food prices have some farm groups and lawmakers wondering if companies were unfairly raising prices.
8Recent reports, however, show that food prices are easing.
9In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: "We can ensure a more robust and competitive agricultural sector."
10The partnership will bring attention to anticompetitive activities including price fixing and gouging.
11Price gouging happens when a seller demands unfairly high prices from buyers during periods of increased demand.
12The department also said it wants to create new research programs to study the problem.
13In the coming months, USDA will also complete new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act.
14A top administration official spoke about the changes in a call with reporters.
15The Packers and Stockyards Act is a law meant to protect members of the livestock, meat and poultry industries from unfair trade and businesses that have too much influence over markets known as monopolies.
16The USDA says it has already proposed two of the three expected rules.
17The department will also give money to expand the meat and poultry industries.
18The goal is to increase the number of processing choices available to farmers who raise animals.
19Vilsack said the new effort is linked to President Joe Biden's executive order this month supporting competition in the American economy.
20The order calls for a "whole-of-government" competition policy.
21I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it aims to lower food prices and increase competition among agricultural businesses. 2The department plans to work with 31 states and the District of Colombia to target unfair price-setting activities. It also plans to act against anticompetitive behavior in the food and agriculture sectors. 3On Wednesday, the USDA said it would work with a group of attorneys from both political parties. It aims to enforce laws on price fixing and the consolidation of businesses. 4The government says farmers have been unhappy about low prices for their products and unfair contracts with the biggest buyers and processors in the agriculture industry. 5Months of rising food prices have some farm groups and lawmakers wondering if companies were unfairly raising prices. Recent reports, however, show that food prices are easing. 6In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: "We can ensure a more robust and competitive agricultural sector." 7The partnership will bring attention to anticompetitive activities including price fixing and gouging. Price gouging happens when a seller demands unfairly high prices from buyers during periods of increased demand. 8The department also said it wants to create new research programs to study the problem. 9In the coming months, USDA will also complete new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. A top administration official spoke about the changes in a call with reporters. The Packers and Stockyards Act is a law meant to protect members of the livestock, meat and poultry industries from unfair trade and businesses that have too much influence over markets known as monopolies. 10The USDA says it has already proposed two of the three expected rules. 11The department will also give money to expand the meat and poultry industries. The goal is to increase the number of processing choices available to farmers who raise animals. 12Vilsack said the new effort is linked to President Joe Biden's executive order this month supporting competition in the American economy. The order calls for a "whole-of-government" competition policy. 13I'm Gregory Stachel. 14Leah Douglas reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it with additional materials for VOA Learning English. 15________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17sector - n. an area of an economy 18attorney - n. lawyer 19consolidate - v. to join or combine together into one thing 20artificially - adj. not happening or existing naturally 21robust - adj. strong and healthy 22___________________________________________________ 23What do you think of this story? 24We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 25Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.