Washington, D.C. — The Biden Administration has prioritized promoting competition in the U.S. economy. Antitrust enforcement is a major prong of this effort and merger control plays a central role. The Biden administration’s strategy is notable in that it differs from other pro-competition administrations. It features leadership sourced from the anti-monopoly movement that emphasizes concern with bigness, generating a robust debate over reconciling enforcement under the existing consumer welfare standard.
Today, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) released a report titled, “Taking Stock of Merger Enforcement Under the Biden Administration.” PPI’s deep-dive analysis unpacks the Biden merger enforcement record based on data across three decades and five political administrations. Report author Diana Moss, Vice President and Director of Competition Policy, finds that the Biden enforcers are more aggressive based on some metrics of merger enforcement, but lag behind on others.
For example, PPI’s analysis reveals that the rates of merger abandonments/restructurings and preliminary injunctions are at an all-time high. The rate at which the Biden agencies win those injunctions in court, however, is below the historical average. Enforcement statistics also indicate that the Obama enforcers were more aggressive in invigorating enforcement than the Biden enforcers, in the wake of the Republican administrations they immediately succeeded.
“The Biden administration’s record shows important and potentially sustainable progress in invigorating enforcement. Leaning heavily on injunctions to accomplish this goal, however, creates a high bar and raises important issues,” said Diana Moss.
These issues include, among others, the risk that the Biden agencies’ below-average win rate on injunctions may create a legacy of case law that could slow progress in invigorating merger enforcement. Other issues include the risk of diverting needed attention away from improving policy on merger remedies and early-stage merger reviews.
In light of the PPI report findings, Moss concluded: “Now is a good time for the Biden administration to take stock of its current merger enforcement program to assess accomplishments, goals, agency leadership, and resources before a potential second term.”
Read and download the report here.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Find an expert at PPI and follow us on Twitter.
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Media Contact: Amelia Fox – afox@ppionline.org
