Overview
- President Trump signed an executive order creating Food Supply Chain Security Task Forces at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate anti-competitive conduct and foreign influence across food industries.
- The Attorney General is directed to pursue criminal proceedings, including grand jury investigations, if collusion is found, while both agencies can bring enforcement actions and propose new rules.
- The order mandates joint briefings to congressional leaders at 180 days and again at 365 days, excluding details of ongoing investigations and other non-public information.
- Priority sectors include meat processing, seed, fertilizer, and farm equipment, where concentrated markets and foreign ownership are cited as vulnerabilities, with examples such as JBS, National Beef, and Smithfield’s parent WH Group.
- The initiative formalizes and broadens earlier steps, including a DOJ probe into major meatpackers, as the administration links competition concerns to rising grocery costs and begins a wider inquiry.