United States: Biden bets on free competition with decree to limit monopolies | Economy

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Friday signed an ambitious decree – 72 initiatives in charge of 12 federal agencies – whose ultimate objective is to promote competition in all areas of the economy. Agriculture and large meat companies; pharmaceutical industry, transport, Internet service providers or financial services: there is no sector that does not consider the latest decree of the Democratic Administration. The measure aims to limit the abuse of its market position by a few companies, which results in higher prices for the consumer. Without naming them, Big Tech is on everyone’s mind, given the ongoing bipartisan – Democrats and Republicans – offensive against Big Tech. “Be very clear, capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it is exploitation”, he declared by the president after the signing of the decree.

But the decree against anti-competitive practices goes much further, and even targets the fine print of service provision. The initiative proposes the end of non-competition clauses in the labor market, greater transparency in baggage supplements or the return of plane tickets, in the prices of Internet service providers, and more monitoring of the technology market: in short, eliminate the commonly overlooked conditions in business transactions that affect millions of employees, consumers and small businesses every day. “More tolerance for abusive monopoly actions, more harmful mergers that lead to massive layoffs, higher prices and fewer options for workers and consumers,” Biden told the White House at the ceremony. signing of the executive order, which “commits the federal government to the full and strict application of antitrust laws.

The decree does not impose immediate decisions, but it urges the dozen government agencies responsible for its development to take steps to “quickly resolve some of the problems of [libre] most urgent competition in our economy, ”explains the briefing document released by the White House before the official signing ceremony. The goal is clear: “To foster competition in the US economy, which will promote lower prices for families, higher wages for workers, innovation and even more powerful growth,” the memorandum explains. El porcentaje de creación de nuevas empresas en el país, recuerda el texto, se ha reducido en casi a 50% desde los años setenta por la concentración de unas pocas grandes compañías, que copan gran parte del mercado en el 75% de los sectors económicos from the country.

The free competition decree Biden signed on Friday – the umpteenth in a bold and progressive mandate – urges regulators to intervene more decisively in key markets such as technology. Biden’s intention to limit the overall power of large Silicon Valley companies is no stranger to the team of collaborators he has formed. Among them are Lina Khan, head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC, in its acronym) and one of the most critical voices of the technology monopoly, or Tim Wu, member of the National Economic Council – the group of advisers of the White House. economic policies – also contrary to the monopolistic practices of Big Tech. One of them, Amazon, has announced plans to appeal Khan’s appointment as head of the FTC.

Using government agencies to protect individuals from a capital market can be seen as an interventionist trait that would make Republicans, and even more moderate Democrats, stand on end. But the sign of the times seems to favor the steadfastness of administrations in the face of big monopolies: not only do dozens of complaints from prosecutors and states against their alleged abuses, Congress is also making progress in passing laws against unfair practices. The latest move came last week, when a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the FTC to initiate a new lawsuit against Facebook, following the dismissal of one brought in December by 48 states against the Palo Alto company.

Hence, Biden’s umpteenth middle-class initiative – “America’s backbone,” as he often calls it – abounds in a state of opinion predisposed to certain limits. In the technology area, Biden’s management will pay particular attention to “the acquisition of emerging competitors, serial mergers or data accumulation.” The Federal Communications Agency (FCC, in its English acronym) must restore the rules which impose the so-called “net neutrality”, adopted under the mandate of Barack Obama and repealed by Donald Trump. The father of the concept of “net neutrality” is Tim Wu, one of Biden’s economic advisers.

For workers, the White House intends to limit exclusivity or non-competition clauses in contracts and restrict the number of functions for which a license is required. This would make it easier to change jobs and increase wages, according to the document put forward by the White House. In the health sector, the proposal to import drugs from Canada, where they are cheaper, stands out for lowering the pharmaceutical bill.

A newly created competition committee will be tasked with “coordinating the federal government’s response to the growing power of big business.”

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