FTC Committed to Robinson-Patman Reactivation with Pepsi/Coke Probe

Mary Kaiser spoke to Global Competition Review about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) probe into how Coca-Cola and PepsiCo price their beverages, highlighting its commitment to embracing overlooked enforcement tools as the agency attempts to resurrect the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) after a decades-long hiatus.

According to Mary, the agency appears to view the RPA as an “underutilized tool for protecting small businesses and one it hopes to wield more frequently” – but it needs to find a good test case to reinvigorate the statute.

Mary emphasized that RPA cases rarely proceed to trial, especially not before a federal court. In reality, most respondents will likely seek a consent order with the FTC and agree to stop the pricing practices in question, she added.

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