Texas’ economic success is proof of the power of free markets. With a gross state product exceeding $2.6 trillion in 2024, Texas would rank as the eighth-largest economy if it were a country. The state’s pro-growth policies — no personal income tax, reasonable regulations and a competitive business environment — have fueled entrepreneurship and innovation, attracting Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
Yet, misguided federal policies threaten this model of economic dynamism. The Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust agenda has introduced uncertainty and regulatory overreach that stifle business growth and innovation. The Trump administration and Republican-led Congress must reverse this course by embracing policies encouraging competition without penalizing success. That starts with restoring the consumer welfare standard as the guiding principle of antitrust enforcement.
Historically, U.S. antitrust laws have been designed to ensure competition benefits consumers. The consumer welfare standard, which has been the backbone of enforcement for decades, evaluates whether business practices harm consumers by reducing choices, increasing prices, or lowering product quality. In the Biden administration, agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice abandoned this standard in favor of an approach prioritizing political and ideological goals over economic realities.
The FTC’s revised 2023 Merger Guidelines, released in December 2023, are a prime example. These guidelines impose sweeping restrictions on mergers, expansions and collaborations, regardless of whether they benefit consumers. They make it harder for companies to innovate and scale, discouraging investment and entrepreneurship. The uncertainty caused by these policies is particularly harmful to startups and small businesses that rely on partnerships and acquisitions to grow.
A clear example of regulatory overreach is the FTC’s challenge to Illumina’s acquisition of Grail, a company specializing in early cancer detection. Despite the potential health benefits of the merger, the FTC sought to block the deal on speculative grounds that it might limit future competition. This kind of intervention discourages medical innovation and delays the development of life-saving technologies.
Texas offers a better path. The state’s economic policies foster growth by reducing unnecessary government interference and allowing competition to thrive. As a result, Texas has become a magnet for businesses, with nearly 2.9 million business entities registered — almost doubling over the past decade.
In January 2025, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognized Texas’s economic strength by hosting its annual State of American Business event in Dallas. Chamber President Suzanne Clark noted that business success is inherently local, underscoring the importance of policies that enable businesses to grow and create jobs where they operate.
Rather than looking to Washington, federal policymakers should look to Texas as a model for fostering competition and growth. Instead of punishing successful companies with unnecessary regulations, the government should encourage innovation by allowing businesses to expand and compete freely.
To restore a competitive and innovative economy, the administration and Congress must take decisive action to rein in the excesses of antitrust enforcement. The first step is reinstating the consumer welfare standard as the foundation of antitrust policy. This approach ensures that government intervention is limited to cases where actual consumer harm can be demonstrated rather than speculative theories of competition.
Additionally, agencies must streamline the merger-review process to provide regulatory clarity and reduce business compliance costs. Overly broad restrictions discourage companies from investing in new markets, forming strategic partnerships, and creating efficiencies that benefit consumers.
Policymakers must refocus on the fundamental principles that drive economic prosperity: competition, innovation and market-driven growth.
Texas’ economic achievements provide a clear blueprint for federal policymakers. Texas has built an economy that thrives on competition and opportunity by prioritizing free-market principles, limited government intervention, and policies that empower businesses rather than constrain them.
The administration and Congress must take a similar approach at the federal level. Reversing Biden’s heavy-handed regulatory policies and restoring the consumer welfare standard will create an environment where businesses can innovate, invest and grow — just as they have in Texas. This is the path to ensuring long-term economic prosperity for America, driven by competition, not government control.
