All Employers May Be Impacted by President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy

On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (the “Order”). This sweeping Order affirms that it is the policy of the President’s Administration to enforce the antitrust laws to combat concentration and abuses of economic power in a number of markets, including: labor, agriculture, healthcare (including i.e., hospitals, insurance, hearing aids and prescription drugs), repair, real estate brokerage, alcoholic beverage distribution, cable, internet, air travel, financial services, rail transport, and ocean shipping. This Order, among other things, mandates and/or encourages cabinet members and agency officials, including Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officials, to conduct studies, issue reports, and consider rulemaking to ramp up enforcement of antitrust and related laws in these sectors of the American economy. The Order also reaffirms the authority of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FTC to challenge previously consummated mergers in all industries, including those that received clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and to review, and likely strengthen, the Horizontal and Vertical Merger Guidelines. Read More ›