By Jody Godoy
May 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice plans to settle its case against data company Agri Stats with an agreement officials hope will help drive down food costs, White House Advisor Peter Navarro said on Monday.
The Trump administration has been moving to focus on affordability as Americans sour on how President Donald Trump has handled the rising cost of living.
The DOJ is scheduled to go to trial soon in a case alleging Agri Stats’ weekly reports on meat pricing and sales enabled anticompetitive practices in the chicken, pork, and turkey industries.
Agri Stats has called the claims baseless and said its services result in lower prices.
The DOJ will use every law enforcement tool available to address rising food prices, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the same press conference where Navarro made his remarks about Agri Stats.
Prosecutors have reviewed more than 3 million documents and conducted interviews in their ongoing probe of the meat-packing industry, Blanche said.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Joe Bavier)
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