FTC, DOJ File ‘Statement of Interest’ Against BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard in Coal Manipulation Case

The FTC chairman accused the companies of hampering coal production ‘in the name of climate change scaremongering.’

The BlackRock office in New York City on Jan. 16, 2014. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have filed a “Statement of Interest” in a multi-state litigation that accuses asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard of conspiring to restrict coal production, the FTC said in a May 22 statement.

A “Statement of Interest” is typically used by government entities to express their perspective in a legal argument without formally intervening in the suit.

The lawsuit was initially filed on Nov. 27 last year in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, by 11 states led by Texas.

In the complaint, the states alleged that BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard acquired “substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States” over several years, thus gaining enough power to control company policies, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office said in a statement at the time.

According to the statement, the asset managers, which, combined, control around $25 trillion in investor funds, announced in 2021 their intent to “weaponize their shares” in the coal companies to push forward “green energy” goals. Their goal was reportedly to cut down coal production within their companies by more than 50 percent by the end of this decade.

Cutting down production impacts market prices. “Deliberately and artificially constricting supply increased prices and enabled the investment companies to produce extraordinary revenue gains,” the statement reads.

The three companies’ actions ended up raising electricity costs for Americans, it adds.

In the May 22 “Statement of Interest“ filed at the same court, the FTC and DOJ affirmed 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.”

The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 prohibits unethical corporate behavior, including predatory or discriminatory pricing, price fixing, and monopolies.

Even though the three asset managers play a key role in America’s capital markets, they “nonetheless remain subject to the same antitrust laws as everyone else,” the FTC said.

Commenting on the latest development, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the 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.”

“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,” he said in a statement, referring to the environmental, social, and governance framework used in assessing how companies carry out sustainability efforts.

“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.”

When the lawsuit was filed in November, a State Street spokesperson dismissed the complaint as “baseless” in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“As long-term capital providers, we have a mutual interest in the long-term success of our portfolio companies,” the spokesperson said at the time.

Alexander Williams, a spokesperson for BlackRock, previously told The Epoch Times that the suggestion that BlackRock invested money in companies with the goal of harming these businesses was “baseless and defies common sense.”

“BlackRock’s holdings in energy companies are regularly reviewed by federal and state regulators,” he said. “We make these investments on behalf of our clients, and our focus is on delivering them financial returns.”

Regarding the recent FTC-DOJ filing, Vanguard told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that it has “concerns with many of the legal interpretations promoted by the agencies.”

However, the company “appreciates their explicit acknowledgement that the antitrust laws allow these three things: ‘passive fund investing,’ ‘shareholder advocacy for better corporate governance,’ and ‘active investing that doesn’t harm competition.’ The facts show Vanguard has stayed well within this construct,” it said.

The Epoch Times reached out to BlackRock and State Street for further comment, but they did not respond by publication time.

Promoting Coal Development

The three asset managers have publicly shifted away from an anti-fossil fuel stance to express a more tolerant view in recent times.

For instance, State Street quit the Climate Action 100+ initiative last year. The initiative was an investor-led effort to “ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take appropriate action on climate change,” according to Climate Action’s website.

Meanwhile, BlackRock transferred its membership in the initiative to an international subsidiary to limit its involvement.

Speaking to The Epoch Times in a previous interview, Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, said: “These companies seem to be backing away from these commitments, but we need to keep the pressure on.

“They haven’t really paid a price yet for what they’ve done to the American people, and I think this suit, and hopefully the massive damages that come out of it, will both dissuade the defendants in this case from ever doing it again, but also other people who are engaged in similar conspiracies.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is promoting coal production in the country. Last month, Trump signed three executive orders and a presidential proclamation aimed at keeping coal-fired power plants operating and boosting mining activities.

The orders instruct federal agencies to prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands and lift any barriers to coal mining. It also required Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “acknowledge the end” of a 2008 Obama-era moratorium that paused leasing of coal on federal lands.

Kevin Stocklin contributed to the report.