The Trump administration wants state attorneys general to join federal investigators in probing alleged antitrust and consumer protection violations causing high gas prices.
In a letter last week, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson urged state law enforcement to join in investigating purported illegal practices.
The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran rattled the global energy market. President Trump signed a preliminary deal with Iran last month to cease hostilities for 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Prices at the pump soared during the four-month conflict, surpassing $4 a gallon on average.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. hovered around $3.80 when the letter was sent, up from $2.98 when the war started.
“Although crude oil prices are now dropping rapidly, far too much of that price cut is being withheld from Americans when they pay for gasoline,” the Friday letter reads.
Mr. Trump said on social media in late June that he instructed the Justice Department to “immediately” begin investigating price gouging, adding that “big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil.”
While the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and FTC don’t enforce laws aimed specifically at price gouging, over three dozen states and the District of Columbia have laws targeting price gouging during periods of market disruption or emergency. Mr. Woodward and Mr. Ferguson encouraged states to review whether enforcement is warranted under those laws.
The state attorneys general were advised to use “all tools available” to investigate and prosecute any misconduct — particularly violations of state antitrust and consumer protection statutes — causing price increases.
Warning energy companies, Mr. Woodward said the Antitrust Division “will use all available tools to ensure that companies are held accountable for unlawfully manipulating the market.”
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