A woman looks over shelves, some of which are empty, at a Walmart store in Teterboro, N.J., on Jan. 12, 2022. The Justice Department is launching a new initiative aimed at identifying companies that exploit supply chain disruptions in the U.S. to make increased profits in violation of federal antitrust laws. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
The Justice Department is launching a new initiative aimed at identifying companies that exploit supply chain disruptions in the U.S. to make increased profits in violation of federal antitrust laws, according to an Associated Press report.
The program, being unveiled Thursday by the Justice Department’s antitrust division and the FBI, comes amid ongoing supply chain struggles and labor shortages in the U.S. that have plagued retailers since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Justice Department lawyers worry that companies may “seek to exploit supply chain disruptions for their own illicit gain,” the department said. And, if that’s the case, the Justice Department and the FBI will prosecute antitrust violations they uncover, the department says.
