The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, is set to announce a groundbreaking initiative aimed at tackling high grocery prices. According to her campaign team, Harris will propose the first federal ban on “corporate price-gouging in the food and grocery industries.”

A Significant Economic Shift

In a statement released by her campaign, Harris emphasized the crucial distinction between “fair pricing in competitive markets and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business.” She declared that everyday Americans can easily recognize this discrepancy in their grocery bills.

Upcoming Economic Policy Platform

This proposal is part of a broader economic policy platform that Harris intends to unveil during a rally in North Carolina this Friday. Her administration aims to increase scrutiny toward potential mergers between major supermarket chains and food producers, specifically addressing concerns about rising grocery prices.

Challenges Ahead

The proposed plan represents one of Harris’s early efforts to present a clear economic vision that operates independent of President Joe Biden’s agenda. This comes after Biden’s unexpected withdrawal from the presidential race in July, during which he had frequently criticized corporate greed for the rise in consumer prices.

Focus on Consumer Protection

While her new policies align with the overarching regulatory structure favored by the Biden administration, they, nonetheless, highlight her distinct approach. The administration previously launched the “Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing,” a collaborative effort between the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

Targeting Specific Industries

In her speech, Harris will also target the meat industry, citing that soaring meat prices significantly contribute to inflated grocery bills, all while meat processing companies report record profits post-pandemic. Additionally, she will offer strategies to reduce consumer costs in the prescription drug and housing sectors, where corporate pricing strategies have been notably aggressive.

Political Landscape and Competition

This announcement comes on the heels of a recent economic speech by former President Donald Trump in North Carolina, where he attributed high consumer prices to Harris’s policies. Despite having a strong lead in early benchmarks, Harris’s recent campaign efforts appear to have shifted the dynamic in national and swing state polling, mitigating Trump’s advantage regarding economic competence viewed by voters.