Taxpayer Watchdog Slams FTC’s Lawsuit Against John Deere

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a lawsuit against Deere & Company, targeting the agricultural-machinery producer’s policies regarding repairs. The FTC alleges that the company has restricted the ability of its products to be repaired outside its network of authorized dealers. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has long opposed so-called Right-to-Repair policies, because they introduce unforeseen costs and often create safety risks.

In response to the FTC’s lawsuit, TPA President David Williams offered the following comment:

“Lina Khan’s FTC seems determined to spend every last second harassing American businesses. Going after John Deere is just the latest example. Biden’s failed antitrust agenda, which was carried out by Khan and Jonathan Kanter (her counterpart at the Department of Justice), has been thoroughly discredited. In fact, the weaponization of government was on the bleeding edge of Biden’s larger economic agenda, which the American people have rejected thoroughly. The FTC’s intention to continue to launch controversial lawsuits right up to Inauguration Day is scandalous. It will likely keep American businesses mired in activist antirust actions well after the activists responsible have been removed from office by the voters.

“The Trump administration, and its antitrust appointees, have a clear mandate to do the opposite of Biden’s antitrusters. It is imperative that businesses be allowed to make their own decisions and be judged by markets and consumers, not political hacks. Free citizens and free markets will do better than any central planning, whether attempted via regulations or enforcement actions. This is the way to a prosperous, innovative, and dynamic American economy.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.