Amazon Is the Target of Small-Business Antitrust Campaign

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Dave Weigel Retweeted

This seems like a pretty big deal: a broad coalition of small businesses across the country joining up to urge anti-trust action against Amazon.

Link to tweet

WSJ NEWS EXCLUSIVE | BUSINESS

Amazon Is the Target of Small-Business Antitrust Campaign

National coalition of small businesses to push for more-forceful antitrust measures, saying Amazon competes unfairly

By Ryan Tracy
Updated April 6, 2021 8:17 am ET

WASHINGTON—Merchant groups are forming a national coalition to campaign for stricter antitrust laws, including measures they hope could force Amazon.com Inc. to spin off some of its business lines.

The effort is being launched Tuesday by trade groups that represent small hardware stores, office suppliers, booksellers, grocers and others, along with business groups from 12 cities, organizers say. Merchants plan to push their congressional representatives for stricter antitrust laws and tougher enforcement of existing ones.

The groups, which collectively represent thousands of businesses, want federal legislation that would prevent the owner of a dominant online marketplace from selling its own products in competition with other sellers, a policy that could effectively separate Amazon’s retail product business from its online marketplace.

Members of the House Antitrust Subcommittee are considering legislation along those lines as they weigh changes to U.S. antitrust law, though no bill has yet been introduced.

The merchant groups also want tougher enforcement of competition laws and legal changes that would make it easier for the government to win antitrust lawsuits against big companies.

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[getagrip_already]

1. Amazon is absolutely predatory in its practices....

First, they are in a position to collect sales data on every vendor and process, right down to where on a page works the best.

Then they analyze it and find sweet opportunities where they can sell their own line (like basics), and compete directly.

Then they increase costs for competitors, promote their own brands preferentially, and slow down delivery of the competitors while speeding theirs up.

They own data, promotion, sales positioning, and delivery. It isn't exactly a fair system.

[redstatebluegirl]

2. Long overdue, now go after Walmart.

Walmart and Amazon have killed more businesses than all of the others combined. They have killed small town grocers, shoe stores and department stores all over the country.