Editing Robinson–Patman Act (section)

== Modern enforcement ==
Enforcement of the RPA has declined since the 1980s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-07-27 |title=Robinson-Patman Act and what it means for today {{!}} Legal Blog |url=https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/robinson-patman-act-and-what-it-means-for-today/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Thomson Reuters Law Blog |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2022, FTC commissioner [[Alvaro Bedoya]] endorsed a revival of enforcing the RPA in order to curb price discrimination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nylen |first=Leah |date=September 22, 2022 |title=FTC’s Bedoya Presses for Return to Fairness Over Efficiency |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/ftcs-bedoya-presses-for-return-to-fairness-over-efficiency |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=Bloomberg Law |language=en}}</ref> Commentators speculated that the FTC under [[Lina Khan]] would ramp up enforcement of the RPA in order to curb the unfair use of market power.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Papscun |first=Dan |date=July 7, 2022 |title=FTC’s Khan Eyes Old Weapon to Crack Down on New Market Players |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/ftc-eyes-seldom-used-pricing-law-to-crack-down-on-market-abuse |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Bloomberg Law |language=en}}</ref> In April 2024, there was a group of congressmen writing to [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]] urging for a revival of the implementation of the Act.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marar |first1=Satya |title=The congressional push to make your groceries more expensive |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4576404-the-congressional-push-to-make-your-groceries-more-expensive/ |access-date=7 April 2024 |work=The Hill |date=5 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Murphy, Blumenthal, Warren, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge FTC To Revive Enforcement Of Robinson-Patman Act To Promote Competition, Lower Food Prices {{!}} U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut |url=https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-blumenthal-warren-scanlon-colleagues-urge-ftc-to-revive-enforcement-of-robinson-patman-act-to-promote-competition-lower-food-prices |access-date=7 April 2024 |work=www.murphy.senate.gov |language=en}}</ref> In December 2024 the FTC sued liquor distributor Southern Glazer's under the Act, asserting that they charged small stores more than they charged large chains.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=13 December 2024 |date=12 December 2024 |language=en |title=F.T.C. Sues Largest U.S. Alcohol Distributor for Illegal Pricing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/business/ftc-alcohol-lawsuit-illegal-pricing.html |work=New York Times}}</ref> 
There is uncertainty regarding its enforcement in the [[second Trump administration]].<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Stacy |title=The Great Grocery: Squeeze How a federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/food-deserts-robinson-patman/680765/ |work=The Atlantic |date=December 1, 2024}}</ref>

Lax RPA enforcement since the 1980s has been a significant cause in the creation of rural and urban [[food deserts in the United States]].<ref name="Mitchell" />