NATIONAL NEWS
President Biden Issues Executive Order on Right to Repair
On July 9, President Biden issued an extensive Executive Order that could have a considerable impact on the independent automotive industry’s ongoing efforts to promote Right to Repair. In his “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” the President urges the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address and remove restrictions imposed by manufacturers against independent entities that seek access to those manufacturers’ repair information and procedures. Although the Executive Order does not specifically identify the independent automotive repair and service industries, provisions found in the document could be interpreted to apply to these fields as well.
22 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2021
In a special Executive Order Fact Sheet, the White House noted that the President “encourages the FTC to issue rules against anticompetitive restrictions on using independent repair shops or doing DIY repairs of your own devices and equipment.” Further, the Executive Order targets “unfair data collection and surveillance practices that may damage competition, consumer autonomy and consumer privacy” and “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.” The complete text of the Executive Order is available at bit.ly/EO7921. The White House Fact Sheet can be found online at bit.ly/EO7921FactSheet. NJA
