FTC Sues John Deere Over Right to Repair

By Ryan Hanrahan

Reuters’ Leah Douglas and Jonathan Stempel reported Wednesday that “the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sued farm equipment maker Deere, alleging it illegally drives up repair costs by forcing farmers to rely on its authorized dealer network. The lawsuit argues Deere has unlawfully boosted profits by requiring farmers to use its network of authorized dealers for repairs, making it difficult for farmers to use independent mechanics or do repairs themselves, the FTC said in a press release.”

“The outgoing Biden administration has targeted what it sees as anti-competitive practices in agriculture, ranging from improving the treatment of chicken farmers by meat processing companies to increasing competition in the seed sector. It has also targeted the right-to-repair issue, which cuts across various industries, including smartphones and computers,” Douglas and Stempel reported. “‘Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income,’ FTC Chair Lina Khan said in the release.”

WIRED’s Boone Ashworth reported that “the FTC’s main complaint here centers around a software problem. Deere places limitations on its operational software, meaning certain features and calibrations on its tractors can only be unlocked by mechanics who have the right digital key. Deere only licenses those keys to its authorized dealers, meaning farmers often can’t take their tractors to more convenient third-party mechanics or just fix a problem themselves. The suit would require John Deere to stop the practice of limiting what repair features its customers can use and make them available to those outside official dealerships.”

NPR’s Alina Selyukh reported that “Republican (FTC) Commissioner Andrew Ferguson, who is Trump’s pick to become the new FTC chair, voted against suing Deere. In a dissenting statement, he and fellow Republican Melissa Holyoak wrote that they welcomed the FTC ‘taking up the cause of the farmer’ but the timing of the case lent it ‘the stench of partisan motivation.’ They also wrote the FTC did not gather enough evidence to have ‘any real confidence of our ultimate chance of success’ in litigation. It’s unclear how or whether the complaint against Deere might proceed under Ferguson.”

“Earlier this week, Deere said it was expanding a pilot program for farmers to repair equipment either by themselves or by going to independent technicians. The company says, among other things, the pilots let people reprogram Deere electronic controllers,” Selyukh reported. “‘Deere remains fully committed,’ the company said in a statement, ‘to ensuring that customers have the highest quality equipment, reliable customer service and that they, along with independent repair technicians, have access to tools and resources that can help diagnose, maintain and repair our customers’ machines.'”

Deere Says it Will ‘Vigorously’ Defend Itself

Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported Thursday that “John Deere Company said it would defend itself ‘vigorously’ against a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit that alleges the company violates antitrust laws in not giving farmers and independent repair shops all the necessary diagnostic tools to repair tractors and combines, in a lengthy and rare public response provided to DTN late on Wednesday.”

“‘This lawsuit, filed on the eve of a change in administration, ignores the company’s long-standing commitment to customer self-repair and the consistent progress and innovation we have made over time, including the launch of Equipment Mobile in 2023 and the previously announced launch of new capabilities for John Deere Operations Center later this year,’ the company said,” according to Neeley’s reporting. “‘The complaint is based on flagrant misrepresentations of the facts and fatally flawed legal theories and it punishes innovation and procompetitive-product design. John Deere will vigorously defend itself against this baseless lawsuit.'”

“Deere said in the statement that it was under the impression the FTC was still investigating and that ‘as recently as last week, John Deere was still receiving questions’ from the agency,” Neeley reported. “‘It is extremely disappointing that three commissioners of the FTC chose to file a meritless lawsuit on the eve of the transition to a new administration,’ said Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support for John Deere.”