Biden proposes new corporate merger guidelines, cracks down on landlord junk fees, food industry price-gouging  

The Biden administration today proposed new guidelines for corporate mergers, took steps to disclose the junk fees charged by landlords, and launched a crackdown on price-gouging in the food industry, the Associated Press reports.

The announcements will be discussed as part of President Joe Biden’s scheduled meeting with the White House Competition Council, a group of officials established under a 2021 executive order.

The council has focused on creating more transparency for consumers and finding ways to limit the concentration of industries in ways that the Biden administration says lead to higher prices and hurt the ability of startups and small businesses to grow. Republican lawmakers and some business group critics counter that the Democratic president’s effort will lead to greater regulatory costs that leave the economy worse off.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are proposing revised guidelines for how they evaluate mergers. Their goal is to provide more clarity on the impact mergers can have on workers and to update the guidance for a digital economy that is shaped by companies such as Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta.

Separately, the government is working with the companies Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com to create a new website that reveals to renters all of the fees they could be charged when signing a lease.

The Department of Agriculture is partnering with more than two dozen state attorneys general to investigate and sanction price gouging in the food sector. The department is also creating a new liaison for farmers to discuss the patent process regarding seeds.