A fitness test

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Making the U.S. economy more competitive has become a mantra of President Joe Biden’s administration, with the [juggernaut]( that is China appearing ever closer in the rear-view mirror. From his plan to [upgrade]( infrastructure to the sweeping executive order to promote competition across American industries that he’s due to [sign]( today, the goal is to fashion a more nimble, resilient economy. The order will address everything from helping farmers and making it easier for workers to switch jobs to targeting foreign-owned [shipping]( alliances and monopolized rail routes that the White House says have driven up costs. It’s not just the U.S.’s global position at stake. A growing number of economists believe rising [concentration]( is partly responsible for problems such as income inequality, stagnant wages and low productivity growth. The dominance of the technology sector by Apple, Amazon.com and Google’s parent Alphabet has prompted smaller firms to [warn]( their products and services have no chance in the market. When a rival does emerge, the big companies can simply buy them up, as Facebook did with WhatsApp. Biden’s focus on the tech giants became clear last month when he unexpectedly named Columbia Law School professor Lina Khan to [lead]( the Federal Trade Commission. She is a prominent advocate of a far more forceful antitrust agenda. Yet the president’s proposals will take months if not years to implement, as legislation inches its way through Congress and government departments process the orders. Rivals such as China face fewer impediments to their policy diktats. Until then, Biden’s question of whether democracies can [compete]( with authoritarian governments in the 21st century will remain an open one. — [Karl Maier]( Construction workers on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Clock ticking | Biden’s team is starting to face up to the [reality]( the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord may soon be beyond saving, with six rounds of talks in Vienna and no sign a seventh might happen. [Nick Wadhams]( reports the stalemate is compounded by Iran’s technological advances, including steps to make metal fuel plates with uranium enriched to 20% purity — a significant move toward the production of a nuclear bomb. Warning shot | China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan received a message behind the scenes recently from senior financial regulators to solve his company’s debt problems — and fast, sources say. The previously unreported discussion suggests authorities are increasingly concerned that Evergrande poses systemic [risks]( to China’s economy. - The White House will add at least 10 Chinese entities to its economic blacklist as early as today over alleged human rights abuses in [Xinjiang](, Reuters reports. - Read our [Big Take]( on the crackdown on China’s Didi in the battle to control data. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Malaysia Staggers Down Road to Failed Statehood: Daniel Moss]( - [Afghanistan Was a Limited War With Limited Success: Hall Brands]( - [For Once, China and China Hawks See Eye-to-Eye: Tim Culpan]( Tax deal | Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice today and tomorrow are due to endorse a global [overhaul]( of corporate taxes. The deal proposes a minimum levy of 15%, and new rules for dividing up tax revenue from the world’s largest companies, including U.S. tech giants. Work on the final detail will continue until an October summit of G-20 leaders. Foreign trace | Retired Colombian soldiers are suspected of participating in the [assassination]( of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, Colombia’s defense minister said. The killing has left Haiti embroiled in a power struggle, with interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph being challenged by Ariel Henry, whom Moise named to fill the post the day before his murder. Spectator-free | The Tokyo Olympics are headed for [uncharted]( territory after the government and IOC decided to make them the first modern games without spectators to avoid creating a superspreader event. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reimposed a virus emergency for the capital as cases surged ahead of the July 23 opening ceremony. What to Watch - The European Union concluded the U.K. [owes]( it $56.2 billion as part of the Brexit settlement, more than London originally estimated. - South Africa’s commercial hub of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, risks running out of [coffins]( as burial homes strain amid a 57% jump in Covid-related deaths in the past week. - France’s government [attempted]( to calm fears about holidaying in Spain and Portugal, backtracking on a minister’s warning yesterday about the rapid spread of the delta variant there. Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). The husband of which U.S. lawmaker won big on Alphabet stock and made bets on Amazon.com and Apple just weeks before the House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation targeting the tech giants? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Last year was a disaster for Amal Hassen and her family. Like tens of millions of people, they waited in vain for the annual downpours in Ethiopia to fill the Blue Nile river to provide them with water to drink and irrigate crops in Sudan and Egypt, [Simon Marks]( and [Mohammed Alamin]( report. As Ethiopia resumes diverting billions of cubic meters of water to its new mega-dam in a decision that’s provoked a [diplomatic]( standoff, they fear a repetition of the devastating drought. Amal Hassen at her home on June 9. Photographer: Simon Marks/Bloomberg  Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022