Law360 (July 9, 2021, 9:59 AM EDT) — President Joe Biden on Friday issued an expansive executive order aimed at boosting competition across the U.S. economy and lowering prices for consumers and increasing pay for workers.
With an eye toward halting consolidation that Biden said has led to higher prices and lost jobs, the president ordered merger enforcers to challenge deals that not only are likely to raise prices for consumers but also may harm labor, agricultural and health care markets and hinder new business formation.
The order requires 72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies and also specifically targets barriers to competition that Biden said has led to higher prices for food, prescription drugs, hearing aids, internet service, airfares, consumer products, rent, financial transactions and telecommunications services, The order also aims to boost wages in a variety of industries and make it easier for small business to compete.
“Once implemented, these initiatives will result in concrete improvements to people’s lives” by addressing a lack of competition that costs the median American household $5,000 per year, the Oval Office said in its statement announcing the order.