Trump Administration Ends Biden's Crackdown on Bulk Pricing

Former Rep. Bob Barr argues the move will benefit consumers by restoring pro-growth antitrust policies.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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The article discusses how the Biden administration's antitrust policies, led by FTC Chair Lina Khan, targeted routine volume discounts and bulk pricing as 'unfair,' despite these practices benefiting consumers through lower prices. The Trump administration has begun reversing this approach, dropping similar cases and signaling a return to antitrust enforcement focused on genuine abuses of market power rather than attacking efficiency and scale.

Why it matters

Antitrust policy can have a significant impact on consumer prices, with the Biden administration's crackdown on bulk pricing and volume discounts potentially raising costs for families. Restoring a pro-consumer, pro-growth approach to antitrust is seen as crucial to addressing the affordability concerns that are a top priority for Americans.

The details

The article argues the Biden administration's antitrust agenda, led by FTC Chair Lina Khan, revived the long-dormant Robinson-Patman Act to challenge routine volume discounts, which the author says are a common business practice that benefits consumers through lower prices. This included a lawsuit against Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits over its pricing policies. The Trump administration has begun reversing this approach, dropping a similar case against PepsiCo and signaling a return to antitrust enforcement focused on genuine abuses of market power rather than attacking efficiency and scale.

  • The Biden administration filed the lawsuit against Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits in 2024.
  • The Trump administration began reversing the Biden administration's antitrust policies shortly after taking office in 2025.

The players

Lina Khan

Chair of the Federal Trade Commission under the Biden administration, who led the agency's efforts to revive the Robinson-Patman Act to challenge volume discounts.

Andrew Ferguson

FTC Commissioner under the Biden administration who warned the Southern Glazer's case was likely to fail because the law explicitly allows cost-justified pricing differences.

Melissa Holyoak

FTC Commissioner under the Biden administration who cautioned the Southern Glazer's complaint failed to identify harm to competition or consumers.

Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits

A distributor sued by the Biden administration's FTC for offering better pricing and promotional terms to large national chains than to smaller independent retailers.

PepsiCo

A company that had a similar Robinson-Patman case dropped by the Trump administration, signaling a return to a more pro-consumer antitrust approach.

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What they’re saying

“If lowering the cost of living is truly a top priority, lawmakers must look beyond rhetoric and examine how regulatory agendas affect prices in the marketplace.”

— Bob Barr, Former U.S. Representative (conservativedailynews.com)

“Antitrust enforcement should focus on collusion, exclusionary conduct, and other genuine abuses of market power, not used as a weapon with which to attack efficiency, scale, or discounts that help families stretch their budgets.”

— Bob Barr, Former U.S. Representative (conservativedailynews.com)

What’s next

The resolution or dismissal of the Southern Glazer's case will be an important marker of the Trump administration's reset of antitrust enforcement to a more pro-consumer, pro-growth approach.

The takeaway

Restoring a focus on antitrust enforcement that protects competition and benefits consumers through lower prices, greater choice, and innovation, rather than ideological attacks on efficiency and scale, is crucial to addressing the affordability concerns that are a top priority for American families.