How a Depression-era law could be used to make your booze cheaper

Federal regulators are planning to use a rarely enforced law from the Great Depression to allege America’s largest alcohol distributor is unfairly pricing wine and spirits, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

Federal regulators are planning to use a rarely enforced law from the Great Depression to allege America’s largest alcohol distributor is unfairly pricing wine and spirits, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. A looming Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits would be aimed at lowering costs for consumers — in this case on alcohol — and ensuring mom-and-pop shops have a level playing field against big chains, the source said. The case, which could be risky, would represent the latest effort by Biden administration regulators to show they are taking action to lower costs and confront dominant companies. It would also be the latest aggressive step by FTC Chair Lina Khan, who recently led the agency to ban most employers from using noncompete clauses and is probing a Microsoft deal with an artificial intelligence startup. The latest battleground in the antitrust fight could be booze. Southern Glazer’s, based in Miami and operating in 44 US states, is the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States. The family-owned company distributes everything from Grey Goose vodka and Jim Beam bourbon to Yellow Tail wine. The FTC lawsuit, previously reported by Politico, could come in the next few weeks and would rely on the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, the source said. That Depression-era law prohibits suppliers from providing deeper discounts to large chains than to smaller stores. In other words, discounts to big-box chains must be available to mom-and-pop stores, too.