Armstrong Leads Letter on Increasing Competition in Meat Processing

WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), along with Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH) and members of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law—Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Representative Ken Buck (R-CO), Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Representative Greg Steube (R-FL)—asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase regulatory flexibility for small meat processors in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The letter, which follows President Donald Trump's recent executive order to promote economic activity through regulatory relief, encourages the Secretary of Agriculture to review burdensome regulations that create barriers to entry for small meat processors and decrease competition in the meat packing industry. The coronavirus outbreak has forced large packers to limit operations, leaving many ranchers and farmers with few, if any, options to get their products to market.

"Our ranchers deserve a fair price for their animals, and market consolidation within the packing industry has limited this opportunity," Armstrong said. "By reducing regulatory burdens that create barriers to growth for small processors, we can increase competition to restore a properly functioning market. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the dysfunction in the meat processing industry, but these reforms are long overdue."

Click here to read the letter.

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