Warren, Lawmakers Demand FTC Take Action to Prevent War-Related Price Gouging as Prices Soar

Warren, Lawmakers Demand FTC Take Action to Prevent War-Related Price Gouging as Prices Soar

Trump's illegal war creates supply chain disruptions, opportunity for big corporations to unfairly hike prices for American consumers

Lawmakers press FTC to use existing authority to investigate, prosecute unlawful price gouging; highlight their Price Gouging Prevention Act which would strengthen federal authority

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - As prices for gasoline, fertilizer, and other products skyrocket as a result of President Donald Trump's illegal war in Iran, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), sounded the alarm about giant corporations possibly taking advantage of the escalating pricing environment to price gouge American consumers and pressed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson to investigate any war-related price gouging.

"Last month, President Trump started an illegal war with Iran, creating broad supply chain disruptions and widespread uncertainty in the global economy," wrote the lawmakers. "Big corporations may capitalize on this uncertainty to hike prices more than is warranted by actual input cost increases, price gouging everyday Americans while enriching executives and padding investors' pockets."

With Trump's war disrupting global trade routes and supply chains, the lawmakers are warning that giant corporations may use the war as an excuse to unnecessarily hike prices and squeeze consumers. Since the start of the war on February 28, 2026, gas and fertilizer prices have now spiked by roughly 30 percent, fertilizer prices have jumped by 30 to 40 percent, and jet fuel prices are up roughly 60 percent. American families face increasing concerns that prices for other consumer products may soon follow.

Some airlines have already started raising their prices, and corporate executives are bragging to investors about how their companies stand to profit from the war.

Price gouging occurs when sellers expand their profit margins by raising prices far more than necessary to cover increases in input costs. Corporate price gougers have a history of blaming inflation and supply chain disruptions to justify their excessive price increases, including in response to Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs in early 2025, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

The lawmakers highlighted that the FTC already has authority to combat price gouging under existing consumer protection laws and pressed it to use that authority to protect Americans - including by investigating and prosecuting companies engaging in unlawful war-related price gouging.

"We urge the FTC to use its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act to investigate and prosecute companies engaging in 'unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce,'" concluded the lawmakers.

The lawmakers introduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act in July 2025 to expand the FTC's authority to combat price gouging, particularly during exceptional market shocks such as war or military action.

The lawmakers requested that Chair Ferguson provide answers regarding the steps that the FTC intends to take to protect consumers from war-related corporate price gouging no later than April 6, 2026.

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