President Issues Executive Order Directing Agencies to Increase Competition and Better Inform Consumers

President Obama issued an Executive Order calling on agencies to make recommendations on specific actions that promote competition and eliminate barriers to it, as well as widen consumer access to information needed to make knowledgeable purchasing decisions. Such recommendations must include a list of prioritized actions, including rulemakings, as well as timelines for completing these actions.

The Council of Economic Advisers ("CEA") issued a corresponding brief titled "Benefits of Competition and Indicators of Market Power." The brief notes the benefits of competition and the potentially adverse effects of concentrated market power. It cites the following as "potential areas for future consideration": (i) "big data" – i.e., the collection of knowledge of consumer information, (ii) price transparency in various markets, (iii) the common ownership of stocks by large institutional investors who may "implicitly" encourage firms they own not to compete, and (iv) concentration in parts of supply chains.