FTC and DOJ File Statement of Interest in Energy Collusion Case Against BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, filed a Statement of Interest in a multistate antitrust case against asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard.

The case, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleges that BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy to drive down coal production as part of an industry-wide “Net Zero” initiative to further anti-coal Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard allegedly exercised their influence as shareholders in competing coal companies to push them to reduce industrywide coal output. The multistate lawsuit alleges that these actions, along with the unlawful sharing of competitively sensitive information and other allegations, increased coal prices and forced American consumers to pay more for energy as part of an unlawful left-wing ideological scheme.

The FTC and DOJ, as the nation’s antitrust law enforcers, filed their Statement of Interest given their strong interest in the correct application of the antitrust laws. The FTC and DOJ seek to protect markets from anticompetitive behavior that raises Americans’ energy bills while avoiding unnecessary interference with ordinary investment activity

“President Donald Trump understands the importance of coal for our energy security and has vowed to fight left-wing ideologues who seek to make us weaker and poorer under the guise of ESG. Today, the Federal Trade Commission carries out this administration’s mission to unleash American energy dominance, protect coal, and stop the left’s attempt to corrupt financial markets with political and social objectives,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson. “These companies allegedly blocked the production of American coal in the name of climate change scaremongering, all so they could take money out of the pockets of American consumers and put it in theirs.”

In their joint statement, the FTC and DOJ urged the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to reject the asset managers’ claims, citing multiple errors of law regarding the application of the nation’s federal antitrust laws to the actions of institutional shareholders in their role as common owners.

The FTC and DOJ’s Statement of Interest affirms that asset managers and institutional investors may be held liable under Section 7 of the Clayton Act when they use their stock holdings in multiple competitors to achieve anticompetitive goals. While these asset managers play an important role in American capital markets—a role that the agencies are committed to protecting—they nonetheless remain subject to the same antitrust laws as everyone else. The Statement of Interest further affirms that public, industry-wide initiatives may still violate the Sherman Act and Clayton Act, even when purportedly justified out of social concerns.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the statement of interest was 2-0-1, with Commissioner Melissa Holyoak recused.