U.S. Treasury Calls Out Beer Industry Over Anti-Competitive Practices
- Treasury urges re-examination of merger-approval guidelines
- Brewing in U.S. remains dominated by two giant operators
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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An explosion of small brewers in recent decades has done little to keep the beer market from concentrating with just two big companies in the U.S., prompting the Treasury Department to recommend greater scrutiny for any mergers and acquisitions in the industry.
The Department of Justice should re-examine the way it assesses combinations and regulators should to take a closer look at distribution practices that may seek to exclude smaller firms, the Treasury said in a 63-page report on the beer, wine and spirits industry.