The Justice Department is currently reviewing a proposed merger between Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co., while the Federal Trade Commission is set to review the acquisition of Syngenta AG by China National Chemical Corporation.
Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the recent deals could impact US food security and competition.
“Because these transactions involve the same underlying market, I urge that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission work together, as appropriate, in their analysis of the state of the agricultural biotechnology and seed industry, so as to ensure that the multiple proposed transactions under consideration do not substantially lessen competition and aggravate an already concentrated industry,” Grassley said in the letter.