Several leading pork producers, including Hormel, JBS, and Tyson, argue that a recent letter from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) supports their defense against antitrust allegations. The DOJ’s letter, submitted in a Minnesota federal court, emphasized that sharing competitively sensitive information can breach antitrust laws, though without directly alleging price-fixing.
The DOJ also clarified that aggregated data, such as average prices, could be problematic under the “rule of reason” approach, which evaluates the competitive impact of information-sharing. The companies argue that the DOJ’s lack of a “per se” claim, which targets clearly harmful conduct, strengthens their position that they did not engage in direct anticompetitive actions. The DOJ’s statement indicates that only “rule of reason” or “per se” standards apply, with no grounds for claims outside these frameworks.
The case sheds light on data-sharing practices in the pork industry and could have significant implications for competitive policies across agriculture.
