Harris to propose federal ban on 'corporate price-gouging' in food and groceries

• Vice President Kamala Harris will propose the first-ever federal ban on "corporate price-gouging" in the food industry, her campaign announced.
• Harris will also pledge that if elected, she will direct the Justice Department to increase scrutiny of potential mergers between grocers and food producers.
• The ban is part of a broader effort by the Democratic presidential nominee to respond to voters' ongoing frustration with the high cost of meat and groceries.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to propose the first-ever federal ban on "corporate price-gouging in the food and grocery industries," her campaign announced late Wednesday.

"There's a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets, and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business," the Harris campaign said in a statement. "Americans can see that difference in their grocery bills."

The proposed ban is part of a broader economic policy platform that the Democratic presidential nominee plans to unveil Friday at a campaign rally in battleground North Carolina.

Harris will also pledge that if elected president, she will direct her administration to increase scrutiny of potential mergers between large supermarkets and food producers, "specifically for the risk that the proposed merger would raise grocery prices for consumers," her campaign said.

This package of regulatory proposals is one of the Harris campaign's earliest efforts to outline an economic platform that is independent of President Joe Biden's agenda.

Before Biden abruptly dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Harris, he had spent more than a year campaigning for reelection and blaming corporate greed for consumer prices driven higher by inflation.

Harris' plan