FTC raids Amazon Japan over suspected antitrust violation
FTC raids Amazon Japan over suspected antitrust violation
The office of Amazon.com Inc.'s Japan unit is raided
Thursday on suspicion that the firm has violated the antitrust law.
KYODO MAR 15, 2018
Japan’s antitrust watchdog raided the office of
Amazon.com Inc.’s unit in the country Thursday, for allegedly violating the
antitrust law by having its suppliers shoulder part of the costs to cover
discounts the retailer applied on goods.
The Japan Free Trade Commission conducted the on-site
inspection on the online retailer suspecting that it has demanded such payments
at least since last year, sources close to the matter said.
“We will fully cooperate with the commission’s
inspection,” Amazon Japan K.K. said.
It is suspected that the suppliers have been complying
with Amazon’s demands so that they can continue to sell their products through
its wider sales network.
Japan’s antitrust law prohibits a party holding in a
position of strength from using that position to illicitly earn profits from
other parties by making demands, such as asking for money.
Aside from selling products on its own site, Amazon also
sells products on behalf of other companies that pay a fee to use its platform.
In August 2016, Amazon Japan was raided on suspicion of
signing contracts with suppliers under which they agreed to make their product
lineups and prices competitive or at least equal compared with rival online
retailers.
The commission terminated its probe on the matter in June
2017 once the company retracted such conditions. There was no decision on
whether the antitrust law had been violated.
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