DOJ and FTC Urge State Attorneys General to Probe Gas Prices as Crude Falls
- The DOJ Antitrust Division and FTC issued a joint letter on July 3 telling state AGs to investigate potential gasoline price gouging and anticompetitive conduct, warning that recent market volatility and falling crude prices are 'no excuse' for failing to pass on lower costs at the pump (foxbusiness.com).
- Federal officials cited no direct price-gouging authority, so they're pressing states to use their own consumer-protection and antitrust statutes — a notable escalation of the Trump administration's pressure on oil majors over the crude-to-retail spread.
- The move comes as pump prices have lagged the slide in benchmark crude, amplifying political friction between the White House and refiners heading into the July 4 holiday driving window.