The unveiling of the market integrity rule coincided with the White House’s Tuesday announcement of a task force led by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to combat unfair and unlawful pricing.
“The Packers & Stockyards Act stands for the basic proposition that livestock producers and poultry growers should be able to compete, cooperate, communicate, and more without fear of retaliation, and should never be subject to discrimination because of who they are or deceptive in their contracting,” said USDA’s Senior Advisor for Fair and Competitive Markets Andy Green. “To deliver the best products and the most competitive prices, we need competitive markets and markets with integrity. That’s what this final rule is designed to deliver.”
The new rule:
- Prohibits the adverse treatment of livestock producers and poultry growers based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, marital status, or age. It also prohibits discrimination against a livestock and poultry producer cooperative.
- Prohibits retaliation against producers and growers for their engaging in certain protected activities: lawful communications or refusals to communicate, the assertion of contractual and Packers & Stockyards Act rights, participation in associations and cooperatives, exploring or entering into a business relationship with a competing packer/swine contractor/live poultry dealer, and certain other protected activities.
- Prohibits employing false or misleading statements or omissions of material information in contract formation, performance, and termination; and prohibits regulated entities from providing false or misleading representations regarding refusal to contract.
- Supports USDA monitoring, evaluation, and enforcement of compliance with aspects of this rule through certain recordkeeping requirements.