Overview

• President Trump formally revoked the July 2021 executive order that directed agencies to tackle market concentration in sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals and labor.
• The Justice Department announced an “America first antitrust” strategy that will cut back on prescriptive rules and expedite Hart-Scott-Rodino merger reviews.
• An analysis by the Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Federation of America found that recent rollbacks have cost consumers at least $18 billion in higher fees and lost compensation.
• Because executive orders do not change statutory law, the practical impact of the revocation will depend on follow-up rulemaking and enforcement choices by the DOJ, FTC and other regulators.
• The move is part of a wider rollback of Biden-era policies, including proposed deep cuts to the workforce at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.