Vice President Harris is scheduled to outline a series of economic policy proposals on Friday as part of her presidential campaign, including calling for a federal ban on corporate price gouging.
Harris is scheduled to speak in the battleground state of North Carolina in November, where her campaign says she will focus on her plans to lower food prices. She is likely to denounce consolidation in the market, saying rising meat prices in particular have contributed to skyrocketing grocery bills.
Harris’ campaign said that if elected, the vice president would outline a plan for her first 100 days in office that would impose a federal ban on price gouging and make it clear that big corporations cannot exploit consumers to make more profits.
She will call on the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate companies that violate these rules, and she will push for more help for smaller businesses that can enter the market and compete with the big meat processors.
Harris also plans to say her administration will crack down on unfair mergers and acquisitions that give a few companies the power to raise prices and lead to further consolidation of markets.
In some ways, Governor Harris’ comments in Raleigh will mirror actions and comments made by President Biden earlier in his term, when he sought to crack down on meat-packing conglomerates that he blames for high prices.
Friday’s speech will be Harris’ first policy-focused address since launching her presidential campaign in late July, after she has faced criticism from the Trump campaign and other Republicans for failing to lay out any substantive policy ideas.
President Trump held a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday focused specifically on the economy, where he sought to blame Sen. Harris for the inflation that has kept food, gas and other prices high under the Biden administration and criticized her for her role as the make-or-break player in major Democratic spending bills.
“Inflation is destroying our country. It’s destroying our families,” Trump said. “We’re going to target everything from car affordability to home affordability to insurance premiums to supply chain issues.”
President Trump’s economic proposals include extending the 2017 tax cuts, increasing oil drilling (U.S. oil production will reach record levels in 2023) and imposing tariffs on all imports, measures that some experts warn could exacerbate inflation.
