The U.S. Senate judiciary committee wants to examine proposed mergers among agricultural chemical and seed companies.
Chinese chemical giant ChemChina is in talks to buy Syngenta. Dow and DuPont are hoping to combine. Among the few remaining large companies, several possible deals involving Monsanto have emerged. All of this has lead regulators and lawmakers to worry about decreased competition and higher prices for farmers.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley says the judiciary committee will hold hearings to add oversight to Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission reviews.
"The hearing will focus on the transactions currently being reviewed by antitrust regulators and the current trend in the consolidation of the seed and chemical industries," Grassley says.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US cleared ChemChina’s bid for Syngenta of national security concerns earlier this week.