CNBC presses commerce secretary on Harris' price-fixing plan, causes of inflation

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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo insists VP Harris is 'not for price fixing'

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo argued on Tuesday that Vice President Harris was not for price fixing and said that it was just a "Republican talking point."

CNBC host Sara Eisen pressed Gina Raimondo, the Secretary of Commerce, on Vice President Harris' price-fixing plan, which Raimondo deemed a "Republican talking point."

"You said that Vice President Harris is pro-business and offers a pro-business vision. And I was wondering if you could clarify that, because for a lot of our viewers and even some folks in businesses that we’ve talked to, they hear things like, price controls or going after price gouging and corporate greed, and it’s not necessarily clear what it means for business going forward under a Harris regime. So what did you have in mind?" Eisen asked. 

The Harris campaign announced on Wednesday she would institute a federal price-fixing plan for corporations, as president, to stop "big corporations" from taking advantage of consumers. 

"She’s not for price fixing. That is a distortion of – that’s a Republican talking point. What she has said is that everyone’s got to play by the rules, right? There’s no place for collusion. There’s no place for price gouging. There’s no place for taking advantage of consumers, and she’ll go after bad actors trying to get around the law," Raimondo said. 

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Sara Eisen pressed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Tuesday about VP Harris' price control plan.  (Screenshot/CNBC)

"So I think that there’s been a distortion of her view," the commerce secretary continued. "She’s not for price fixing. But she is very serious about making sure that Americans – she’s going to use every lever at her disposal to bring down costs for the American people."

Eisen pointed out that Harris called for a federal ban on price gouging for food and pharmaceuticals. 

"That's a place where the government then controls what the fair price of a good is," the host said. 

Harris' proposal was met with criticism from members of the media and prominent economists, including former Obama adviser Jason Furman, who said the plan was "not sensible policy."

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President Joe Biden stands with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden during the first day of Democratic National Convention, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Raimondo said that as long as companies were playing by the rules, Harris would not go after them. 

"Let’s talk about the facts here, not the political rhetoric. Many, many states in this country, including Rhode Island where I was governor, have anti-price gouging regulations. By the way, we have usury laws, we have antitrust laws. Forever, for hundreds of years, we have had laws which provide guardrails for our economy. And that’s what she is saying. She’s not saying broad price controls. She’s saying, go after companies in a narrow way if there’s evidence, right? This is all going to be evidence-based. She is one of the best lawyers and prosecutors we know, she's not out to take business down," Raimondo argued. 

Eisen also questioned whether corporations were really at fault for high inflation and increased prices at the grocery stores. 

"I think it’s a combination of things. But I will say this, initially, the price spikes were because supply chains were incredibly snarled due to COVID. Supply chains are moving now. So they can’t claim that is the case. Obviously, gas prices, you know, American food runs on gas. Wages, etc. But here’s the reality. If there is evidence that some retailers are price gouging, what you will get from a President Harris is that she will go after them because it’s just not fair for the American consumer," Raimondo said. 

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Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell also criticized Harris' proposal to implement federal price controls in order to stop "price gouging" on groceries. 

"It’s hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is," Rampell wrote in an op-ed published on Thursday. "It is, in all but name, a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry, not only food. Supply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels. Far-off Washington bureaucrats would. The FTC would be able to tell, say, a Kroger in Ohio the acceptable price it can charge for milk."

Rammpell later backtracked somewhat and said the plan was "a generic call to increase antitrust enforcement is fine and I support it." 

Fox News' Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.