Attorney General James Uthmeier is taking a leadership role among several southern states that are scrutinizing connections between environmental groups and large corporations.
Uthmeier has teamed up with Attorneys General from Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana who are raising questions about potential antitrust violations. Uthmeier and his cohorts have drafted letters saying they believe there is coordination between some companies and the environmental activists over recycling practices.
“We have reason to believe that the policies of the Consumer Goods Forum, the Green Blue Institute, and the U.S. Plastics Pact are hindering states’ economic prosperity by coordinating business behavior, which would constitute violations of Florida’s antitrust laws. We will not allow these activist organizations to push misguided policies that can’t win at the ballot box and inflate prices for Florida consumers,” Uthmeier said in a news release Wednesday.
“Radical environmental activists do not have the right, nor the avenue, to suppress business operations in our market.”
Uthmeier says the three groups he singled out are involved with efforts to regulate plastic production and packaging standards and identifying recyclable material. The state’s top law enforcement official said those efforts could amount to restraining competition that increases costs to consumers and limits choice.
Uthmeier said he and his colleagues are asking those environmental groups to explain their market activities and also request they provide supporting documents that detail their approaches. He added that if there is a coordinated effort between the groups and corporations, the activity raises serious questions about collusion and market manipulation.
“We have grave concerns that this mission is harmful to our states’ economies, results in higher costs to our states’ consumers, unreasonably restrains trade, and reduces output and quality of goods and services,” the letters state.
So far, the requests have been labeled an “inquiry” by Uthmeier, and he added that the requests for information and explanations will continue for months.
While Uthmeier identified the environmental organizations that are the subject of the inquiry, the news release did not name any companies that he believes might be involved in any agreements.
