The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently recognized the first anniversary of President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (EO) and “celebrated the Antitrust Division’s most productive year of interagency competition policy engagement in recent history.”

DOJ stated that it hopes to institutionalize interagency partnerships in the coming year. In addition to expanding relationships with other federal agencies, DOJ announced that its efforts to revise the merger guidelines are “well underway” and noted its withdrawal, along with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, of the “2019 policy statement on remedies related to standards-essential patents. . . .”

The recognition of the anniversary of the EO comes at a time when DOJ is continuing its strong antitrust enforcement activities, especially its aggressive pursuit of wage-fixing claims in every industry, including in health care.