The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority on Friday warned the pharmaceutical and food-and-drink industries against exploiting customers amid the spread of the coronavirus and said it is creating a new task force aimed at monitoring corporate behavior. The watchdog urged retailers to behave responsibly and said the measures it will take through the launch of its new task force could range from warnings to emergency responses. The CMA also said it could ask the U.K. government to pass emergency legislation when existing laws aren’t enough to tackle fraudulent actions. “The CMA is already mitigating some of these risks using existing powers,” Chairman Andrew Tyrie said. The competition watchdog on March 5 warned merchants over misleading claims with regard to coronavirus protective equipment after reports that retailers were increasing the price of sanitizers and face masks.

Source: Wall Street Journal March 20, 2020 18:56 UTC