The U.S. Department of Justice is widening its beef-price investigation to eight major grocery retailers: Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, Aldi and Ahold Delhaize USA. The Antitrust Division sent the companies letters dated in July seeking records on retail sales and prices, beef costs and margins, market-trend analyses and related information. The review follows an investigation into meatpackers after President Trump accused them of manipulating beef prices. Tyson Foods settled a class-action lawsuit for $82.5 million after grocers accused it of restricting supply to inflate prices. Ground beef averaged $6.89 a pound in July, up 10% from a year earlier, while separate Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed beef and veal prices rising 9.4% in the 12 months through July. Drought, disease concerns, tariffs, higher production costs and the smallest U.S. cattle herd since 1951 have constrained supplies. Trump said Aug. 21 that the United States would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground-beef product to enter over 90 days without an out-of-quota tariff, with a commitment that it would be sold 25% below current market prices. The plan has drawn opposition from American ranchers and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, while the administration has also pursued other import and domestic-processing measures.