Executive Order 14036, Promoting Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits.

On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14036, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.”1 The goal of the Executive Order is to reduce the trend of corporate consolidation, increase competition, and deliver concrete benefits to America’s consumers, workers, and small businesses. Those benefits include more choices, better service, and lower prices for consumers through a competitive market, as well as fairer opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs to compete. In particular, “[t]o protect the vibrancy of the American markets for beer, wine, and spirits, and to improve market access for smaller, independent, and new operations,” the Order required the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Chair of the FTC, to “submit a report…assess[ing] the current market structure and conditions of competition, including an assessment of any threats to competition and barriers to new entrants. Accordingly, the Treasury Department has produced the following report. It is based on input from government agencies, industry participants, trade associations, public interest groups, and concerned citizens.