Justice Department Launches Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force

Today, the Justice Department launches an Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force to advocate for the elimination of anticompetitive state and federal laws and regulations that undermine free market competition and harm consumers, workers, and businesses. The Antitrust Division has a long history of advocacy against laws and regulations that create unnecessary barriers to competition.  The Task Force will surge resources to these efforts and invite public comments to support the Administration’s mission to unwind laws and regulations that hinder business dynamism and make markets less competitive.    

“Realizing President Trump’s economic Golden Age will require unwinding burdensome regulations that stifle free market competition. This Antitrust Division will stand against harmful barriers to competition whether imposed by public regulators or private monopolists,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We look forward to working with the public and with other federal agencies to identify and eliminate anticompetitive laws and regulations.”

On Jan. 31, President Trump signed Executive Order 14192 declaring “the policy of the executive branch” to be that federal agencies should “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.” Consistent with this policy, on Feb. 19, President Trump signed Executive Order 14219 directing agencies to “initiate a process to review all regulations” and identify regulations that, among other things, “impose undue burdens on small businesses and impede private enterprise and entrepreneurship.” Consistent with longstanding practice, the Antitrust Division will support federal agencies’ deregulatory initiatives by sharing its market expertise on regulations that pose the greatest barriers to economic growth.

Regulatory capture is a well-studied phenomenon in which agencies become “captured” by special interests and big businesses, rather than serving the interests of the American people. But when regulations serve the few and impose undue burdens on small businesses, private enterprise, and entrepreneurs, they also harm competition and ultimately hurt American consumers, workers, and businesses. For example, regulations can increase compliance costs, preventing businesses from competing on a level playing field with powerful corporations. Regulations can also discourage or even intentionally prohibit small businesses and new products from entering markets and lowering prices for American families. In contrast, eliminating unnecessary anticompetitive regulations makes it easier for businesses to compete. More competition empowers the American people — not government regulators — to drive economic progress and innovation. When every American has a fair opportunity to enjoy the benefits of competitive free markets, every American has an opportunity to realize the American dream.

By identifying and working with state and federal agencies to revise or eliminate these laws and regulations, the Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force will contribute to making the American dream a reality. As a first step, the Antitrust Division will initiate a public inquiry to identify unnecessary laws and regulations that raise the highest barriers to competition. In particular, the Division will seek information from the public about laws and regulations that make it more difficult for businesses to compete effectively, especially in markets that have the greatest impact on American households, including:

• Housing: Americans spend more than one-third of their monthly income on housing, and the cost of owning or renting a home continues to rise. Laws and regulations in housing markets can contribute to these problems by making it more difficult for companies to build and ordinary Americans to rent or buy.
• Transportation: Laws and regulations in areas like airlines, rail, and ocean shipping can grant antitrust immunities, outright monopolies, or safe harbors for conduct that undermines competition. As a result, Americans pay more for travel, fuel, and a variety of other products.
• Food and Agriculture: By the end of the Biden-Harris Administration, grocery prices were 27% higher than at the end of the first Trump Administration. Eliminating unnecessary anticompetitive regulations will help farmers, growers, and ranchers increase the amount of food they produce and unlock lower prices for American consumers.
• Healthcare: Laws and regulations in healthcare markets too often discourage doctors and hospitals from providing low-cost, high-quality healthcare and instead encourage overbilling and consolidation. These kinds of unnecessary anticompetitive regulations put affordable healthcare out of reach for millions of American families.
• Energy: Reliable and affordable energy is essential to modern American life — whether in homes, businesses, manufacturing plants, schools, hospitals, sporting events, or data centers. Laws and regulations can undermine reliability and affordability by protecting incumbent electricity providers from competition or disruptive innovation.

The public will have 60 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov, no later than May 26. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. All market participants are invited to provide comments in response to this inquiry, including consumers, consumer advocates, small businesses, employers, trade groups, industry analysts, and other entities that are impacted by anticompetitive state or federal laws and regulations.

In addition to reviewing responses from the public, the Task Force will bring together attorneys, economists, and other staff from across the Division, together with interagency partners, to identify state and federal laws and regulations that unnecessarily harm competition. The Antitrust Division will then take appropriate action, including helping agencies revise or eliminate these regulations.

The Task Force will also consider other ways to advocate for the removal of anticompetitive laws and regulations. The Division routinely files amicus briefs and statements of interests in private litigation, and it will continue to do so to promote competition and oppose anticompetitive laws and regulations. The Division also provides comments on proposed legislation in the states on the request of state legislators. These efforts will continue with an eye toward protecting competition and interstate commerce in light of dormant Commerce Clause principles.

The Justice Department has a long history of serving as the Executive Branch’s chief competition advocate by working with agencies to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations. In 2018, the Justice Department released a report on how regulations can harm competition. Following this report, the Justice Department submitted dozens of comments to federal agencies supporting efforts to eliminate unnecessary regulations and increase competition. For example, the Justice Department, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, submitted a comment opposing  regulations that would have protected incumbent electricity transmission companies from much-needed competition in energy markets across the country. The Justice Department filed comments aimed at making it easier for individuals and small businesses to navigate the federal government bureaucracy. The Justice Department also provided technical assistance and trainings to federal agencies to help them analyze how new and existing regulations might affect competition, or whether competition may be a better alternative to regulation altogether.

The Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force will continue these efforts, supporting ongoing efforts across the Trump Administration to unleash competition by eliminating unnecessary, burdensome, and wasteful government regulations. For more information on the Task Force, including contact information, see the Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force page on the Division’s website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: AnticompetitiveRegulations@usdoj.gov.