FTC dismisses lawsuit against PepsiCo, calling it a partisan stunt

In January 2021, just before President Donald Trump's inauguration, the Federal Trade Commission, under the leadership of then-chairwoman Lina Khan, filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo, accusing the company of providing unfair price advantages to Walmart over other vendors, allegedly harming both competition and consumers. The complaint relied on the seldom-enforced Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, which prohibits certain discriminatory pricing practices, particularly those favoring large clients at the expense of smaller competitors. Democratic commissioners supported the action while Republican ones dissented, labeling it a partisan maneuver. Following the lawsuit's initiation, the administration transitioned to Donald Trump, leading to the resignations and dismissals of Khan and two Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, who later contested their removals in court. As the political dynamics shifted, Andrew Ferguson, a Republican commissioner who formally opposed the suit, ascended to the FTC chairmanship and argued that the lawsuit's basis was weak and politically motivated. He deemed it a