On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump revoked a 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden that aimed to promote competition in the US economy. This move by the Republican president undoes a significant policy initiative by his Democratic predecessor, which targeted anti-competitive practices in various sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and labor.
The justice department has expressed approval of Trump’s decision, citing a preference for an “America first antitrust” approach, emphasizing free markets over what they describe as the “overly prescriptive and burdensome approach” of the Biden administration. The department also stated its progress on optimizing the merger review process under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and reinstating targeted consent decrees.
Biden’s July 2021 executive order aimed to enhance competition across the US economy to tackle corporate abuses, such as excessive airline fees and large mergers that inflate consumer costs.
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The initiative to promote competition in the economy was popular among Americans and was led by Biden’s economic advisors, many of whom had previously worked with Senator Elizabeth Warren, who was instrumental in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Barack Obama.
However, Trump has been a critic of the Bureau since taking office and has proposed reductions to its workforce by as much as 90%. This has reportedly resulted in at least $18 billion in higher fees and foregone compensation for Americans who have been victims of deceptive practices by large companies, according to a June analysis by the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Consumer Federation of America.
Biden’s executive order targeted the enforcement of antitrust laws to address industry concentration and the negative effects of monopolies and monopsonies, focusing particularly on labor and healthcare markets.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/13/trump-revokes-biden-order-economy
