Justice Department and National Economic Council Partner to Identify State Laws with Out-Of-State Economic Impacts

Today, the Justice Department and the National Economic Council announce an effort to identify State laws that significantly and adversely affect the national economy or interstate economic activity and to solicit solutions to address such effects. They invite public comments to support the Administration’s mission to address laws that hinder America’s economic growth, including those that burden industry and our small businesses.

From his first day in office, President Trump and his Administration have prioritized eliminating the “crushing regulatory burden” that has “made necessary goods and services scarce.” Deregulatory efforts will boost the American economy, relieve Americans of undue burdens, and make America affordable and energy dominant again. President Trump issued multiple Executive Orders to advance his deregulatory agenda and requiring the Executive Branch to put that policy into action. On January 31, President Trump signed Executive Order 14192 declaring “the policy of the executive branch” to be that federal agencies should “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.” Consistent with this policy, on February 19, President Trump signed Executive Order 14219 directing agencies to “initiate a process to review all regulations” and identify regulations that, among other things, “impose undue burdens on small businesses and impede private enterprise and entrepreneurship.” He also signed Executive Orders aimed at unleashing American Energy, rolling back Obama-era regulations micro-managing Americans’ showers, and tackling anti-competitive rules.

Federal regulatory burdens are only part of the story. As President Trump has also recognized, in Executive Order 14260, State-level practices can drive up nationwide costs and undermine American safety and “Federalism by projecting the regulatory preferences of a few States into all States.” Anecdotal evidence and the experience of countless Americans across the country strongly suggest that State laws and regulations can significantly burden commerce in other States, raising costs unnecessarily and harming markets nationwide. For example, last month, the Department sued the State of California, Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other State officials over California laws that impose costly requirements on the production of eggs and poultry products, raising prices for American consumers in and outside of California.

The public is invited to provide input to aid the Administration’s efforts as set forth in the above-discussed Executive Orders and elsewhere to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens and costs imposed on the American people. This request for comments seeks information pertaining to State laws, regulations, causes of action, policies, and practices (collectively, State laws) that adversely affect interstate commerce and business activities in other States. In particular, comments are invited on:

• Which State laws significantly burden commerce in other States or between States, thus raising costs unnecessarily and harming markets nationwide.

• Whether the State laws identified may be preempted by existing federal authority and, if so, what authority.

• Whether there may be federal legislative or regulatory means for addressing the State laws or regulations identified or the burdens they cause.

• Which federal agency has the subject-matter expertise to address concerns lawfully within the federal government’s authority.

The public will have 30 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov (OLP182; Docket No. DOJ-OLP-2025-0169), no later than September 15, 2025. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. All interested parties are invited to provide comments in response to this inquiry, including consumers, consumer advocates, small businesses, employers, trade groups, industry analysts, States, and other entities that are impacted by State laws that have nationwide or interstate economic effects.