U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks throughout a marketing campaign occasion at West Allis Central Excessive Faculty in West Allis, Wisconsin, United States, on July 23, 2024.
Vincent Orban | Reuters
Washington—Vice President Kamala Harris Her marketing campaign introduced late Wednesday that it plans to suggest for the primary time a federal ban on worth gouging by “corporations within the meals and grocery business.”
“Honest pricing in a aggressive market and Price is too high “This has nothing to do with the price of doing enterprise. Individuals can see the distinction of their grocery payments,” the Harris marketing campaign mentioned in a press release.
The proposed ban is a part of a wider ban Economic Policy Platform The Democratic presidential candidate plans to make the announcement at a marketing campaign rally in battleground North Carolina on Friday.
Harris may even pledge that, if elected president, she’s going to direct the administration to extend scrutiny of potential mergers between main supermarkets and meals producers, “notably given the danger that proposed mergers would elevate grocery costs for customers,” she mentioned. the marketing campaign mentioned.
The sequence of regulatory proposals is among the earliest efforts by the Harris marketing campaign to stipulate an financial platform impartial of President Joe Biden’s agenda.
Earlier than Biden abruptly dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Harris, he spent greater than a 12 months campaigning for reelection and blaming company greed for inflation-driven client costs.
Nonetheless, Harris’ plan stays firmly inside Biden’s general regulatory strategy, which has Prioritize consumer protection Throughout a number of industries and sue to block A number of large-scale company mergers.
March, White Home Carry out “severe crackdown on unfair and illegal pricing practices” This can be a joint initiative of the Division of Justice and the Federal Commerce Fee.
On Friday, Harris will single out the meat business, saying that “regardless of meatpacking corporations’ document earnings following the pandemic, hovering meat costs have accounted for rising grocery payments amongst Individuals.” An enormous half.” her marketing campaign.
The Democratic presidential candidate may even unveil proposals aimed toward reducing client prices in two different areas the place corporations have aggressively exercised pricing energy: pharmaceuticals and housing.
Harris’ speech will come two days after her opponent, former President Donald Trumpgave it to myself economic policy speech In North Carolina, he blamed Harris for top costs on client items.
“You’re paying the worth [Harris’] Liberal extremism at gasoline stations, at grocery counters and on mortgage payments,” Trump mentioned in Asheville.
Almost a month into the marketing campaign, Harris has erased Trump’s lead over Biden in nationwide and battleground state polls.
However Trump nonetheless maintains a long-term benefit over the Democrats when it comes to which candidate voters suppose is finest for the economic system.
