Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Last week, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. As my partner, Elizabeth Haas, points out, the antitrust implications are far reaching.  Of the 72 different initiatives in the EO, the issue regarding the future of “right to repair” will impact manufacturers.
In the fact sheet accompanying President Biden’s EO, the White House notes its intention to “[m]ake it easier and cheaper to repair items you own by limiting manufacturers from barring self-repairs or third-party repairs of their products.” The fact sheet calls out “[p]owerful equipment manufacturers” who “use proprietary repair tools, software, and diagnostics to prevent third-parties from performing repairs.” The EO itself directs the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission to exercise the Commission’s rulemaking authority to remedy “unfair anticompetitive restrictions on third-party repair or self-repair of items, such as the restrictions imposed by powerful manufacturers that prevent farmers from repairing their own equipment.”  In May 2021, albeit prior to the current Chair assuming her position, the FTC issued a report to Congress finding that “there is scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions.” It is too soon to determine what the FTC’s regulations will look like, but given the Biden Administration’s elevation of what has historically been an issue addressed at the state level if at all, there is little reason to believe the current Chair will be inclined to reject the FTC’s May 2021 conclusions.

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