In passing this law, Congress hoped to protect smaller shops, such as food markets, from having their prices undercut by the larger chains with more negotiating leverage and the ability to secure bulk purchasing discounts.3
The agency followed through. Its case against wine and spirits distributor, FTC v. Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Dec.12, was consistent with the Biden administration FTC's expansionist policies, including its shift away from the agency's historic focus on consumer welfare standards and to consider types of competitive harm other than price and output.4
And on Jan. 17, in the final days of the Biden FTC and just days before the inauguration — the commission followed up with a second Robinson-Patman case, FTC v. PepsiCo Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.5
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