January 29, 2026

ICYMI: Warren, Nadler, Monopoly Busters Caucus Co-Chairs Lead Colleagues in Questioning Pepsi on Price Discrimination, Misleading Congress; FTC on Possible Political Influence

Recently unredacted FTC complaint suggests PepsiCo engaged in discriminatory pricing favoring Walmart over small independent retailers, raising prices for consumers

Complaint raises concerns that Pepsi made false claims in response to congressional inquiry, Trump FTC’s dismissal of Pepsi suit was politically motivated

Text of Letter to Pepsi (PDF) | Text of Letter to FTC (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, and the co-chairs of the House Monopoly Busters Caucus — Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), and Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) — led lawmakers in pressing PepsiCo (Pepsi) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on whether Pepsi used discriminatory pricing practices that favored Walmart over smaller retailers and raised questions about possible political motivations in the FTC’s decision to dismiss its price discrimination lawsuit against the company.

“[A] newly unsealed FTC complaint … raises fresh questions about whether Pepsi is engaging in discriminatory pricing strategies in favor of large chain stores that force smaller, independent retailers – and American consumers that shop at these retailers – to pay higher prices,” wrote the lawmakers to Pepsi Chair and CEO Ramon Laguarta. “This newly disclosed information reveals new details about Pepsi’s troubling pricing practices, and also appears to indicate that Pepsi’s responses to our previous inquiry into this matter were evasive and inaccurate.”

“As food prices remain sky-high, the FTC should be enforcing the [law] to promote fair competition in the food industry, rather than giving dominant retailers and suppliers a free pass to continue discriminatory pricing practices that reduce consumer choices and raise prices,” wrote the lawmakers to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson.

Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, also signed on, along with Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

Last January, the FTC sued Pepsi under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), a law that prohibits sellers from engaging in anticompetitive and discriminatory pricing practices. The suit alleged that Pepsi violated the RPA by extending unfair pricing to a big box retail customer, later revealed to be Walmart. Smaller, independent retailers were not offered the same pricing advantages, forcing them to pay more for the same product — and forcing higher prices onto American consumers that shop at those stores.

In May, Senator Warren and lawmakers wrote to Pepsi, underscoring the apparent RPA violations the FTC had laid out in its heavily redacted complaint. Days later, just before the court was expected to unseal portions of the complaint, the FTC abruptly dismissed the case. Shortly after, Pepsi responded to the lawmakers’ letter, disputing the key argument in the FTC’s complaint and writing that “PepsiCo’s pricing architecture is designed to ensure that all retailers – regardless of size or channel – receive competitive, non-discriminatory pricing, discounts, and promotional support.”

Last month, a largely unredacted version of the FTC’s complaint against Pepsi was unsealed, including direct quotes from internal documents that reveal Pepsi does provide Walmart with unique promotional payments and services for the purposes of advantaging Walmart and exerting control over retail prices in the resale of Pepsi soft drinks. The unredacted complaint suggests that the claims Pepsi made in its May response to Senator Warren and lawmakers were evasive and inaccurate and raises serious questions as to whether there was any legitimate basis for Trump’s FTC to dismiss the case.

In their new letter to Pepsi, the lawmakers pressed the company on its apparent false claims — a serious matter if false or misleading information was in fact provided in response to a Congressional inquiry — and once again pushed the company on concerns regarding its discriminatory pricing strategies.

In their letter to FTC Chair Ferguson, the lawmakers raise questions as to why the FTC dismissed the complaint before the internal Pepsi documents cited in the complaint became public and whether the FTC dismissed the complaint due to political reasons. The lawmakers also urge the FTC to reopen its lawsuit against Pepsi and vigorously enforce the RPA against other suppliers and retailers engaging in similar practices.

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