Competition in the American Economy

Today President Biden signed an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. It includes the agriculture sector.

1. He intends for the Department of Agriculture to toughen enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act by making rules that clearly identify unfair and unjust practices, reinforce the interpretation that a violation of the act doesn’t need to show harm to the whole industry – just one farmer is enough, dial back the practice of poultry companies controlling every aspect of a contract farmer’s operation while the farmer shoulders all the risk, updating the definitions and criteria for determining what is unfair under the Act, and shore up anti-retaliation protections for complainants under the Act. (The USDA had already announced on June 11 that it would begin work on the Packers and Stockyards Act.)
2. He wants the USDA to fix country of origin labeling so consumers can tell where their food is from.
3. He has directed the Department “to devise a plan to ensure that farmers have greater opportunities to access markets and receive a fair return for their products.” The order includes a list of suggested ways of doing this and ends with, “any other means that the Secretary of Agriculture deems appropriate.”
4. In an attempt to ” to improve farmers’ and smaller food processors’ access to retail markets,” he is asking for a report on the effect of retail concentration “including any practices that may violate the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Robinson-Patman Act (Public Law 74-692, 49 Stat. 1526, 15 U.S.C. 13 et seq.), or other relevant laws” and also on “on grants, loans, and other support that may enhance access to retail markets by local and regional food enterprises.”
5. And he’s ordered a report on ways in which intellectual property rights may “unnecessarily reduce competition in seed and other input markets.”