Kamala Harris to reveal controversial plan to bring down food prices as her first major policy... and here's what it could mean for YOU

Kamala Harris wants to take aim at rising food costs and price-gouging as she starts to lay out her own economic priorities and set herself apart from the Biden administration if she win the White House in November.

The vice president heads to North Carolina on Friday to deliver her first address focused on the economy policy nearly a month after jumping into the presidential race with President Biden's exit. 

In one of her first economic proposals as Democratic presidential nominee, Harris plans to call for the first ever federal ban on corporate price-gouging, her campaign said.

During her visit to Raleigh, Harris will announce her plan to enact the ban during her first 100 days in office in her effort to address grocery costs as inflation has persisted throughout much of the past four years under the Biden administration. 

While it is not exactly clear how the proposal would be enforced, the campaign said in its release that the plan would 'set clear rules' so corporations 'can't unfairly exploit consumers.'

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Raleigh, NC on Friday to deliver her first economic policy address as Democratic presidential nominee. The campaign said she would call for a federal ban on price-gouging during her remarks

It would give the Federal Trade Commission and state Attorneys General the ability to investigate the food industry and impose 'harsh penalties' on corporations that break rules.  

The proposals would also crack down on big food corporation mergers that would allow companies to hike food prices and undermine competition, the campaign said.

The plan comes as Americans remain frustrated with higher food prices at grocery stores due to inflation. 

Soaring costs have eased substantial from when inflation peaked in June 2022 when food prices were up more than 10 percent from the year before. Food costs are currently up 2.2 percent from a year ago but remain elevated well above what they were before Biden took office. 

'While our economy is doing well by many measures, prices for every day things like groceries are still too high,' Harris said at a recent rally in Wisconsin where she touted going after price fixing schemes as California's Attorney General.

Some progressive groups have have accused big companies of taking advantage of the pandemic and supply chain challenges to jack up prices and urged the Biden administration to take action.

But other economists and the Federal Reserve were hesitant to blame the price increases on corporate greed, even if it played a role in some cases. The main drivers of inflation were supply constraints and increased demand. 

'It will only increase shortages,' said Allison Schrager from the more conservative Manhattan Institute. She noted there is a 'disastrous history of price controls' and economists generally agree past efforts have not achieve their intended goal in the market. 

'I don't know if she's trying to bring prices down to pre-pandemic levels, but clearly that would be disastrous for the grocers,' she added.

Food prices are up more than 20 percent overall from before the coronavirus pandemic, but inflation has eased dramatically from its peak in 2022. Food prices are up 2.2 percent from a year ago

During her economic policy address on Friday, Harris will also unveil proposals that deal with prescription drug and housing costs, according to her campaign. 

Harris' economic vision is slowly starting to take shape, both in how she would remain aligned with the Biden economic agenda and also chart her own course. 

Before his exit from the presidential race, Biden had vowed on the campaign trail to not raise taxes for anyone making less than $400,000. It's a pledge Harris' campaign has said she would keep.

But in order to make that a reality, the next administration would have to work with Congress to address the 2017 Trump tax law provisions set to expire next year. 

Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over which provisions they would want to keep versus which they would let end at the end of 2025 if Congress does not act.

On the campaign trail and in official remarks as vice president, Harris has zeroed in her messaging on supporting and strengthening the middle class, similarly to Biden. 

In a rally on Saturday in Nevada, Harris made waves with another proposal when she agreed with Donald Trump's call to end taxes on tips. 

'When I am President we continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,' she said.

Trump accused her of copying him as he made a similar pitch on tips also in Nevada earlier this year. 

The proposal has been met with mixed response. Some Democrats have been calling to end taxing tips for years, but critics have called it an unfair tax policy and suggested officials should focus more on wages.

Harris has called for raising the minimum wage, a policy backed by President Biden, but efforts by the administration to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour have been met with resistance from Congress.

The campaign has also touted other pieces of legislation Harris has helped pass as vie president including the American Rescue plan in 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 where Harris was the tie breaking vote.