By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday revoked a 2021 executive order on promoting competition in the U.S. economy issued by his predecessor Joe Biden, the White House said.

The move by Republican Trump further unwinds a signature initiative by Biden, a Democrat, to crack down on anti-competitive practices in sectors from agriculture to drugs and labor.

The Justice Department welcomed Trump's revocation of the order, saying it was pursuing an "America First Antitrust" approach focused on free markets instead of what it called the "overly prescriptive and burdensome approach" of the Biden administration.

It said it was also making progress in streamlining the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) review process of mergers and reinstating more frequent use of targeted and well-crafted consent decrees.

Biden signed a sweeping executive order in July 2021 to promote more competition in the U.S. economy as part of a broad push to rein in what his administration described as a pattern of corporate abuses, ranging from excessive airline fees to large mergers that raised costs for consumers.

The initiative, which was very popular with Americans, was championed by top Biden economic officials, many of whom had previously worked for or with Senator Elizabeth Warren, who played a key role in creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under former President Barack Obama.

Trump has attacked that agency since taking office, announcing plans to shrink its workforce by 90%.

Those moves have cost Americans at least $18 billion in higher fees and lost compensation for consumers allegedly cheated by major companies, according to an analysis released in June by the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Consumer Federation of America.

Hannah Garden-Monheit, who was the director of competition policy under Biden, said Trump's move undercuts his promise to protect the Americans who need it the most.

"This shows President Trump's claim he would 'Make America Competitive Again' was a sham. Instead of enforcing the competition laws, he's throwing Main Street businesses and workers under the bus while doing favors for the rich and powerful," Garden-Monheit said.