WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined House and Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging them to investigate which big corporations are using the Trump tariffs as an excuse to raise prices in excess of actual cost increases caused by the President’s tariffs, and to prosecute individuals and companies that price gouge American consumers.
“President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs build an especially fertile environment for price-gouging. The new tariffs have created a cloud of uncertainty that gives companies cover to raise prices on all goods, regardless of whether they are subject to new tariffs or whether their costs have meaningfully increased, above and beyond what is necessary to cover any cost increases,” the members wrote.
“Armed with the knowledge that the FTC has turned a blind eye to this price-gouging tactic, companies now have free rein to use surveillance pricing to price gouge consumers. A former FTC official said, ‘The message that is coming out of this administration…is that the watchdog is gone and companies feel emboldened to rip people off.’ We urge you to fulfill your public commitment and to ensure President Trump’s trade war is not a ‘green light’ for price gouging,” concluded the members.
You can read the full text of the letter HERE.
Senator Rosen is working to lower costs and protect American consumers. Earlier this year, she sent a letter to the FTC expressing concern over the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by corporations to target individuals with different prices for the same products through surveillance pricing. Senator Rosen was also part of a letter pressing the Trump Administration on how mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will hurt Nevada families. She has also introduced legislation to crack down on price gouging by corporate investors who are driving up housing prices. Last Congress, Senator Rosen successfully pushed the FTC to block the Kroger-Albertsons grocery store mega merger because it could reduce competition and raise grocery prices.
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