Germany Launches Investigation Into Amazon

Amazon is facing an investigation by Germany’s national competition regulator over the eCommerce giant’s relationship with third-party sellers, Reuters reports.

“We are investigating whether and how Amazon influences how traders set prices on the Marketplace,” Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily newspaper, according to Reuters.

After the U.S., Germany is Amazon’s second largest market.

As stores were shuttered to prevent the spread of the virus and shoppers switched to online purchases, Mundt said there were complaints that Amazon blocked some sellers because of allegedly high prices.

“Amazon must not be a controller of prices,” Mundt told the German newspaper.

He said while Amazon has responded to his office’s requests for information, those statements are being evaluated.

Reuters reports the Cartel Office was unavailable for comment.

In response, Amazon said the company’s policies were designed to guarantee its partners set competitive prices.

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