Biden Plans Broad Competition Order to Tackle Market Power

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration is preparing a plan to bolster antitrust enforcement and encourage competition, according to people familiar with the process, a move that could have broad implications for industries including technology, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

The White House plans to issue an executive order in the coming days that would require federal agencies to address promoting competition in the industries they oversee, said the people, who asked not to be named because the initiative isn’t yet public.

“The President made clear during his campaign that he is committed to increasing competition in the American economy, including by banning noncompete agreements for workers and protecting farmers from abusive practices, but there is no final decision on any actions at this time,” said White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons.

The move echoes an Obama administration order that followed a report outlining concerns that various industries across the U.S. economy had shown high levels of consolidation. That order applied to the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, which are responsible for antitrust enforcement, in addition to other agencies and departments, such as those overseeing communication, transportation, agriculture and labor.

Earlier: Tech’s Nightmare Bills Get Support and Blowback: Key Takeaways

An executive order would add to a widespread push for stronger antitrust enforcement in Washington, where bipartisan majorities on the House Judiciary Committee last week advanced six antitrust bills, some of which focused on big tech companies.

The hurdles faced by enforcers in challenging the conduct of dominant companies was thrust into the spotlight on Monday when a judge dismissed two monopoly cases against Facebook Inc. that had been brought by the FTC and a coalition of states. The cases had accused Facebook of engaging in a strategy of buying companies to eliminate competition and sought to force the divestitures of Instagram and WhatsApp.

For more: FTC Revival of Facebook Case Hinges on Bolstering Monopoly Claim

President Joe Biden appointed antitrust advocate Lina Khan to chair the FTC, and he named Tim Wu, a big tech critic and Khan’s former colleague at Columbia University, as a top White House adviser on technology and competition policy.

Reuters reported earlier on the plans for an executive order addressing competition concerns.

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