Washington, D.C. — May 5, 2025 — In a sweeping effort to eliminate regulatory barriers to competition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division issued a joint letter Monday calling on all federal agencies to identify regulations that hinder market competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
The directive, signed by FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, follows President Donald Trump’s recent Executive Order on Reducing Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers. The order mandates that agency heads submit to the FTC and DOJ a list of existing regulations deemed to have anticompetitive effects, along with recommendations for repeal, revision, or justification.
“This initiative is about cutting red tape that prevents small businesses from competing, startups from growing, and consumers from benefitting from lower prices and better choices,” said Ferguson in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Each federal agency is required to identify rules within its jurisdiction that may restrict competition and explain whether the rule should be deleted, modified, or retained despite its potential anticompetitive impact. The FTC and DOJ will then compile a comprehensive report for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) summarizing their findings and recommended changes.
The joint letter also builds on a recent Request for Information (RFI) from the FTC, which asked the public to highlight federal rules that may be harming competition. That feedback, combined with agency input, will shape a final list of targeted regulations for potential rescission or reform.
Assistant Attorney General Slater emphasized the broader economic stakes, noting, “Competitive markets drive innovation and productivity. This is a government-wide effort to ensure our regulatory framework is helping, not hindering, the American economy.”
It remains to be seen how quickly agencies will respond and what types of regulations will be flagged. Still, the directive marks one of the most aggressive federal efforts in recent memory to align regulatory reform with competition policy.
