American technology companies have driven global innovation, strengthened the economy, and created millions of jobs. Yet the prior administration took actions that risk weakening America’s competitive edge on the world stage.

The success of American companies greatly benefits American workers and consumers

American tech companies don’t just lead the world in innovation—they drive the U.S. economy forward.

— As The Economist noted, American leadership in innovation is unmatched: “America’s dynamic private sector draws in immigrants, ideas, and investment, begetting more dynamism. It is home not just to the world’s biggest rocket-launch industry, but also its internet giants and best artificial-intelligence startups. Its seven big tech firms are together worth more than the stock markets of Britain, Canada, Germany, and Japan combined; Amazon alone spends more on research and development than all of British business.”

— The U.S. has maintained a strong position in global technology, accounting for 38% of the industry’s advancements in 2024, well ahead of China and the EU, which contributed just 10% each.

— Amazon alone supports 4.8 million jobs in the United States, including hundreds of thousands of small businesses that sell on its platform.

— A study from Oxford Economics found that Amazon’s presence reduced unemployment and increased labor-force participation at the state and county levels. For example, Amazon has invested over $12 billion in North Carolina since 2010, employing more than 24,000 people across the state while supporting an estimated 10,000 additional indirect jobs.

Regulators’ antitrust actions are undermining U.S. competitiveness

The Biden administration’s aggressive actions against successful American companies like Amazon and Google don’t just threaten innovation and consumer benefits at home—they also undermine America’s ability to compete on the global stage. China-backed firms are continuing to rapidly expand in key industries like artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and digital advertising.

— The DOJ has pushed to break up Google’s AI business just as Chinese firms like DeepSeek are making rapid investments in artificial intelligence. DeepSeek has already launched a ChatGPT competitor on Apple’s App Store and trained a powerful AI model for just $6 million—far less than what U.S. companies typically spend. Weakening a leading American AI company now would put the U.S. at a disadvantage in one of the most strategically important industries of the future.

— CCIA President Matt Schruers wrote in the Disco Project, “At a time when global competition with rivals abroad should be the priority, they [American tech companies] have been fending off Administration regulators challenging acquisitions of new technology on an unprecedented scale.”

— The previous administration also threatened to break up Amazon while Chinese-founded companies Temu and Shein are aggressively expanding their foothold in the U.S. market. Temu and Shein—e-commerce platforms linked to the Chinese Communist Party—are rapidly expanding their presence in the U.S. market. Temu has undercut American retailers by leveraging state-supported supply chains, while Shein has benefited from regulatory rules to sell ultra-low-cost products. As John Mercer, head of global research at Coresight, said in an interview with Fox Business, “Temu and Shein made about $100 billion in global sales last year. The vast majority of that will be peeled away from legacy retailers… taking sales at their expense.”

— Instead of bolstering American competitiveness on the global stage, the Biden administration worked with foreign companies to advance its agenda against U.S. businesses. As The Information reported, the agency sought information from China-based Amazon competitor Temu to support its antitrust case against Amazon.

— This decision from the FTC has received significant criticism from policymakers. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted: “It’s deeply concerning that Joe Biden’s FTC worked with companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party to target American firms.” Similarly, former Senator Scott Brown wrote, “[The FTC] was so obsessed with [their] crusade against Amazon, born and based in Seattle, that [they were] willing to collude with a foreign company with connections to the Chinese Communist Party. Under China’s National Intelligence Law, Temu must provide data – collected both domestically and abroad – to the CCP.”

— Furthermore, this complicates the FTC’s own stated goals of protecting businesses in its antitrust case against Amazon. As Hilal Aka at ITIF points out: “The FTC has long proclaimed that its antitrust attack against Amazon was part of an effort to fight for and work with small businesses and ordinary Americans against an alleged monopolist engaged in conduct that, in Khan’s own words, was ‘hurting consumers and sellers’ and that it was ‘small businesses survival that’s on the line.’ The reality of the FTC working with large rival platforms like Temu paints an entirely different picture of what may have been really going on.”

— The Biden administration worked to dismantle Google’s digital advertising business as Chinese firms like Alibaba are expanding their ad tech capabilities. Alibaba has secured Chinese government support to expand its digital advertising, e-commerce, and cloud computing businesses—directly competing with U.S. firms like Google and Amazon. Google’s integrated ad services allow small businesses and publishers to efficiently reach audiences, but regulators are now targeting these tools while foreign competitors expand unchecked.

— U.S. policymakers should also closely examine and understand the flaws in the European Commission’s (EC) enforcement actions against American technology companies under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The decision should not be replicated in the U.S. because it will harm the ability of companies to innovate and remain competitive globally. Kate Brown echoed this sentiment: “American leaders should be concerned that the EU actions single out some of the United States’ most successful and innovative companies, threatening to break popular products and services that consumers use worldwide.”

These actions don’t just threaten innovation and consumer benefits at home—they also weaken America’s ability to compete globally and protect against emerging threats.

— Economists warn that these actions are based on flawed assumptions about global competition. As Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian of the Yale School of Management explain, “Antitrust overreach is hurting American business competitiveness in global markets, with the FTC calculating industry concentration on a purely domestic—and sometimes even local—basis instead of examining market share on a global scale… hamstringing American entities by miscalculating industry concentration as if U.S. companies do not compete with foreign competitors, many of which are subsidized by their national governments, in strategic industries… only hurts American competitiveness.”

— National security experts caution that these policies also put U.S. cybersecurity at risk. Glenn S. Gerstell, former general counsel of the National Security Agency, warns, “Breaking up U.S. tech companies diminishes their ability to detect and counter cyber threats that jeopardize national security. These companies act as omnipresent sensors, leveraging their integrated platforms to identify cyber vulnerabilities and attribute malicious activities. The Department of Justice’s proposal to force divestitures in cases like Google’s ignores these critical capabilities, effectively sacrificing…cybersecurity for competition policy.”

At a time when foreign competitors are strengthening their positions through government support, the FTC and DOJ’s overreach is weakening America’s ability to lead in technology, cybersecurity, and economic innovation. Instead of handicapping U.S. businesses, regulators should focus on policies that protect American competitiveness, security, and global leadership.

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