VOA新闻杂志2023 美国农业部瞄准高食品成本,增加竞争（在线收听）

US Agriculture Department to Target High Food Costs, Increase Competition

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it aims to lower food prices and increase competition among agricultural businesses.

美国农业部(USDA)表示，其目标是降低食品价格，增加农业企业之间的竞争。

The department plans to work with 31 states and the District of Colombia to target unfair price-setting activities. It also plans to act against anticompetitive behavior in the food and agriculture sectors.

该部门计划与31个州和哥伦比亚特区合作，打击不公平的定价活动。该部还计划打击食品和农业领域的反竞争行为。

On Wednesday, the USDA said it would work with a group of attorneys from both political parties. It aims to enforce laws on price fixing and the consolidation of businesses.

周三，美国农业部表示，将与来自两党的律师团队合作，目标是执行有关价格垄断和企业合并的法律。

The government says farmers have been unhappy about low prices for their products and unfair contracts with the biggest buyers and processors in the agriculture industry.

政府表示，农民对他们的产品价格低廉以及与农业行业最大买家和加工商签订的不公平合同感到不满。

Months of rising food prices have some farm groups and lawmakers wondering if companies were unfairly raising prices. Recent reports, however, show that food prices are easing.

几个月来食品价格的上涨让一些农业组织和立法者怀疑公司是否在不公平地提高价格。然而，最近的报告显示，食品价格正在回落。

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: "We can ensure a more robust and competitive agricultural sector."

农业部长汤姆·维尔萨克(Tom Vilsack)在一份声明中表示:“我们可以确保一个更强大、更具竞争力的农业部门。”

The partnership will bring attention to anticompetitive activities including price fixing and gouging. Price gouging happens when a seller demands unfairly high prices from buyers during periods of increased demand.

这一合作关系将引起人们对包括价格垄断和哄抬物价在内的反竞争行为的关注。哄抬物价是指卖方在需求增加期间向买方提出不公平的高价。

The department also said it wants to create new research programs to study the problem.

该部门还表示，希望创建新的研究项目来研究这个问题。

In the coming months, USDA will also complete new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. A top administration official spoke about the changes in a call with reporters. The Packers and Stockyards Act is a law meant to protect members of the livestock, meat and poultry industries from unfair trade and businesses that have too much influence over markets known as monopolies.

在接下来的几个月里，美国农业部还将根据《肉品加工厂商与养殖场法案》完成新的规定。一名高级政府官员在与记者通话时谈到了这些变化。《肉品加工厂商与养殖场法案》是一部旨在保护畜牧业、肉类和家禽业成员免受不公平贸易和对市场影响过大的企业(即垄断企业)侵害的法律。

The USDA says it has already proposed two of the three expected rules.

美国农业部表示，已经提出了预期的三项规定中的两项。

The department will also give money to expand the meat and poultry industries. The goal is to increase the number of processing choices available to farmers who raise animals.

该部门还将提供资金扩大肉类和家禽业，此举是为饲养动物的农民提供更多的加工选择。

Vilsack said the new effort is linked to President Joe Biden's executive order this month supporting competition in the American economy. The order calls for a "whole-of-government" competition policy.

维尔萨克说，这项新的努力与拜登总统本月支持美国经济竞争的行政命令有关。该命令要求实施“全政府”的竞争政策。