On August 15, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a request for information (RFI) seeking input on state laws and regulations that have “significant adverse effects” on the national economy and interstate commerce. This RFI, which builds on the Trump administration’s broader deregulatory agenda, presents an opportunity for members of the food industry to highlight some of the challenges posed by the growing patchwork of restrictive state laws affecting food and beverage products, and to request federal action to relieve those challenges (with a focus on preemption).
Since taking office, President Trump has issued multiple executive orders and presidential memoranda that aim to reduce regulatory burdens and decrease costs for consumers.[1] These efforts have focused largely on identifying “unlawful” and “unnecessary” federal regulations. DOJ’s RFI expands these efforts to the state level, noting that “State laws and regulations can significantly burden commerce in other States and between States, thus raising costs unnecessarily and harming markets nationwide.” This comes in the wake of other DOJ efforts to target state laws on preemption grounds, including a recent challenge to California’s Animal Confinement Laws for Egg-Laying Hens (also known as Prop 12).
In response to these concerns, DOJ is looking to identify state laws, regulations, causes of action, policies, and practices (which DOJ refers to collectively as “State laws”) that “adversely affect interstate commerce and business activities in other States.” DOJ is specifically seeking input on the following:
- Which State laws significantly burden commerce in other States and between States, thus raising costs unnecessarily and harming markets nationwide.
- Whether the laws identified may be preempted by existing Federal authority and, if so, what authority.
- Whether there may be Federal legislative or regulatory means for addressing the State laws identified or the burdens they cause.
- Which Federal agency has the subject-matter expertise to address concerns lawfully within the Federal government’s authority.
This RFI could be particularly salient for members of the food industry, who have been confronted with a number of state laws restricting the marketing and sale of food and beverage products. These include recently-enacted laws in West Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana that restrict the use of certain ingredients in foods and/or require label disclosures regarding certain ingredients, as well as a slate of recent laws that restrict the marketing, distribution, and/or labeling of certain plant-based and cultivated meat products. This RFI presents a unique opportunity for members of the industry to highlight some of the challenges posed by this growing patchwork of state laws and to identify steps the federal government can take in response to those challenges.
Stakeholders have until September 15, 2025 to submit comments on the RFI.
If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this client alert, please contact the members of our Food, Beverage, and Dietary Supplements practice.
[1] Covington has analyzed these efforts in a number of past client alerts, including here, here, and here.
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