Thread by @matthewstoller

The Federal Trade Commission is now holding forth on a rule to stop fraudulent Made in USA labeling.

Chopra says there has been a longstanding bipartisan consensus not to enforce against fraudulent Made in USA labeling, choosing a "highly permissive Made in USA fraud policy." Commissioners routinely voted to allow wrongdoers to escape penalties.

Republican commissioners were actually out of step with Donald Trump on Made in USA fraud. Curious to hear what GOP commissioners @CSWilsonFTC and @FTCPhillips say here. nytimes.com/2019/04/17/us/…

Now Chopra is saying that they got a lot of comments from ranchers. The FTC won't exempt the beef industry, which the meatpackers sought. @JDScholten

Now Republican Noah Phillips is saying that he opposes the Made in USA fraud rule because it exceeds FTC authority.

And Republican FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson is complaining about having an open meeting and forcing them to vote on policies with only a week's notice. Calls the process "chaos" instead of a "thoughtful process."

It's just amazing that the Democratic Commissioners at the FTC are fighting for a Made in USA policy Trump sought while the Republicans are angrily opposing it and opposing even having an open meeting.

It turns out that @FTCPhillips's 'process' complaint is that the version of the rule he had to vote on had a typo.

Motion passes 3-2 to adopt a rule against Made in USA fraud.

Republican FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson is now going back to the 1970s when she claimed the FTC overreached.

Always the 1970s. I wonder if she's afraid the squeegee men will come back.

This is really the core dynamic at issue. The GOP commissioners are basically saying 'they are trying to govern!' as a critique.

https://twitter.com/leah_nylen/status/1410639474682433538

And now Lina Khan is proposing withdrawing the Obama-era bipartisan rule that constrained the FTC from policing fair competition. This is a big deal.

From 'what planet am I on' politics... Republican @CSWilsonFTC lauds Obama's bipartisan policy constraining the enforcement fair competition while the Democrats are advocating for reversing Obama's policy and promoting Made in USA.

Repealing the Section 5 unfair methods of competition statement is something we recommended in Courage to Learn. economicliberties.us/our-work/coura…

The debate is now all about the consumer welfare standard. Wilson proposes a comment period. Chopra points out there was no comment period when the statement was adopted.

Hard to describe but this atmosphere is tense.

Now Khan is proposing making it easier for the FTC staff to investigate a bunch of different things, like mergers. She has already been upsetting the antitrust defense bar. mattstoller.substack.com/p/the-new-ftc-…

“FTC orders are not suggestions.” - Commissioner Chopra

Talks about the Facebook settlement. Says the FTC is often willing to bring down the hammer on small firms but lets the big ones off the hook.

Time for public statements. First is a restaurant owner asking for an investigation into DoorDash, Uber, for menu stealing and deception. Then an independent pharmacist against PBM monopolists.

Now another restaurant owner complained about DoorDash caused chaos at his restaurant. Public comments are great.

Tech lobbyist Neil Chilson talking now complaining about FTC overregulation. Such a stark contrast between Chilson and people in business.

And @chesterj1 laying out the utter failures of the FTC on regulating surveillance advertising.

Now franchisee Keith Miller is saying the FTC is pathetic in looking out for franchisees. Doesn’t bother to even collect documents from franchisors.

And Chris Jones from the National Grocers talks about why independent grocers didn’t get supplies during the pandemic. Asks the FTC to revive the Robinson-Patman Act.

If these public comments are any indication we can draw two conclusions. One, business owners are mad and want the FTC to act. And two, many of them are accidentally on mute.

As business owners talk about how they are preyed on by monopolists, I can see Republican commissioner Noah Phillips actively not caring. The light in his eyes went out.

This hearing has everything.

Surveillance equipment made in China marketed as "Made in the USA." Health care kickbacks raising pharmaceutical prices. Pandemic-related shortages due to price discrimination.

The Heritage Foundation sent someone to complain about the open meeting and the lack of time to weigh in on the agenda.

Dude there are people with real problems.