Amazon warns sellers: New US antitrust law may affect your business!

It is learned that Amazon is recently warning third-party sellers on its platform that antitrust proposals in the US Congress may restrict their business development.

It is reported that in June this year, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved legislation aimed at completely reforming U.S. antitrust laws and increasing supervision of Amazon and other large technology companies.

One of the most radical bills is the "Anti-Platform Monopoly Act," which prohibits platforms from offering products and services that require a fee to access. This provision will affect Amazon's FBA service, in which sellers pay retailers a certain fee to let Amazon be responsible for the warehousing, packaging and transportation of goods.

Amazon sellers told the Democratic leadership of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee that using Amazon Logistics can give them better rankings in the platform’s search results and other advantages.

After the bill was introduced, Brian Huseman, Amazon's vice president of public policy, warned that the legislation would have a "significant negative impact" on sellers and consumers. He said sellers would face greater challenges in promoting their products, while reducing product selection and forcing consumers to accept higher prices.

Third-party sales remain one of Amazon's biggest growth businesses. Third-party seller services, which include commissions, fulfillment and shipping costs, grew 38% year-over-year in the most recent quarter, significantly outpacing the 16% year-over-year growth in Amazon's own stores.

Until recently, Amazon warned sellers via email, "We are concerned that they may have a significant negative impact on small and medium-sized sellers like you selling on our platform." It is reported that the email also requires sellers to hold a conference call with staff from Amazon's public policy team, but the specific content of the conference call is still unclear.

But when asked whether Amazon had lobbied sellers to help it oppose the legislation, Amazon did not respond directly and said its emails spoke for themselves.

It is learned that Amazon is facing antitrust pressure from multiple parties. In May this year, Karl Racine, Attorney General of the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing them of fixing contract prices with third-party sellers and abusing their market position.

Amazon is also facing antitrust investigations by attorneys general in New York and California, as well as an FTC probe into its retail and cloud computing business practices.

Editor✎ Irene/

Statement: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.