it's the US government versus two grocery store Giants as the trial to block the $25 billion merger between Kroger and rival Albertson's kicked off in federal court on Monday the US Federal Trade Commission and several states have sued the grossers on the grounds that the proposed deal would eliminate competition resulting in higher prices for Shoppers and less bargaining power for unionized grocery workers ERS Kroger and Albertson's argue that the merger is necessary in order to compete with the likes of Walmart the largest grocery retailer in the US as well as Costco and Amazon which owns Whole Foods it's a high-profile case for the Biden Administration as it looks to lower prices for consumers higher grocery bills are also an issue in the presidential race between Democratic vice president Kamala Harris and her Republican rival former president Donald Trump the trial is also a key test of FTC chair Lena Khan's initiative to use Anti-Trust law to boost wages and Mobility for workers labor has been an area of focus for con a former law professor and Congressional anti-rust Council who took the Reigns of the agency in mid 2021 Kroger for its part has said it will sell about onen of the approximately 5,000 stores it would own if the deal is allowed to go through the grosser has also pledged to slash prices at stores by 1 billion dollar after the merger the trial is expected to last around 3 weeks