Biden Planning Executive Order to Rein in Power of Big Businesses

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The Biden administration is preparing a government-wide plan to encourage competition in markets across the economy, 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 as soon as next week that would require federal agencies to take steps to promote 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 gives Biden a way to focus on the decade-plus consolidation of key consumer-facing industries in the U.S., including airlines and telecommunications. In discussing competition, the order also would let him weigh in on the growth of tech companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., whose market sway has stirred bipartisan concerns in Congress.

The order will echo an Obama administration order in 2016 that said government agencies beyond those responsible for antitrust enforcement had a role to play in protecting consumers, workers and business from being harmed by instances of market power in the economy. Reuters reported earlier on the plans for an executive order.

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