As expected, former President Donald Trump has formally rescinded President Joe Biden’s 2021 EO. This order was meant to foster competition within the U.S. economy. Buried in that announcement, the White House revealed another important decision. This decision rolls back Biden’s attempts to go after corporate wrongdoing that has hurt consumers across industries.
In July 2021, President Biden signed a landmark competition executive order that aimed to bolster competition in the market. The initiative aims to curb corporate pursuits that have led to record-high airline costs. It further takes on big mergers that raise costs for consumers and tackles anti-competitive practices in agriculture and healthcare industries. Among a variety of proposals, the order furthers plans to simplify the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act pre-merger review process. Most importantly, it re-establishes the use of targeted consent decrees.
The executive order received overwhelming public support. That’s a sign of the growing fear of the power that corporations have over everyday Americans’ economic lives. Biden’s initiative was seen as a critical step in combating what he described as “the excessive concentration of industry, the abuses of market power, and the harmful effects of monopoly and monopsony.”
And while Elizabeth Warren might be the most influential person in the Democratic Party today, FDR is still FDR. She was key in founding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under then-former President Barack Obama and helped craft the policies that shaped Biden’s executive order. Key economic officials in the Biden administration have a strong history of working with Warren. This link-up demonstrates a new, bipartisan agreement for regulatory reform.
Yet, in its own administration, Trump’s Department of Transportation described Biden’s direction as “overly prescriptive and burdensome.” Whether to revoke the trump-era executive order of PAEE symbolizes a deep ideological rift that separates the two parties. They deeply differ on how to regulate business conduct. This step not only undoes ALL of Biden’s initiative, but builds on steps to further weaken INTEGRAL pieces of former President Obama’s economic legacy.
While Trump’s revocation will appeal to some business interests, it raises red flags about ensuring healthy competition in the U.S. economy. Furthermore, it raises giant red flags on consumer protection concerns. Critics argue that dismantling these regulations could exacerbate issues that the executive order sought to address, such as high prices and limited choices for consumers.