Amazon has been using various tactics to pressure suppliers into raising prices on rival retailers' sites, according to internal emails and court claims, potentially affecting consumer prices across platforms.
Eight sellers of SolidWorks industrial software were fined a total of 2.37 billion won by the Fair Trade Commission for colluding on prices and dividing customers. The collusion, which began in August 2021, led to a 53.81% increase in the average selling price of SolidWorks CAD by the third quarter of 2023.
Prosecutors indicted HD Hyundai Oilbank and two officials for alleged price-fixing totaling $17 billion, following the U.S.-Iran war. The company is accused of colluding with SK Energy to raise petroleum prices, with GS Caltex and S-Oil following suit, undermining market competition.
Prosecutors indicted HD Hyundai Oilbank and two officials for alleged price-fixing worth $17 billion, colluding to raise petroleum product prices after the U.S.-Iran war. SK Energy was not indicted due to a leniency program, while GS Caltex and S-Oil followed the rigged hikes.
Prosecutors have indicted four major South Korean refiners, HD Hyundai Oilbank, SK Energy, GS Caltex, and S-Oil, along with company officials, in a 26 trillion-won ($17 billion) price-fixing case. The companies are accused of colluding to raise petroleum prices following the U.S.-Iran war, undermining market competition.
The U.S. Justice Department and 17 states settled with Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch over allegations of price-fixing, resulting in $3.3 million in payments and 53 million eggs donated to food banks.
The Trump administration, via the DOJ and 17 state attorneys general, has filed a civil suit against major egg producers, accusing them of a coordinated scheme to inflate egg prices by manipulating benchmark quotes from Urner Barry Publications.
Three major egg producers, Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman's Egg Ranch, have agreed to a $3.3 million settlement with the DOJ and 17 state attorneys general over allegations of price manipulation. The companies also agreed to donate 53 million eggs.
The Walt Disney Company will pay $50 million to subscribers of YouTube TV and DirecTV streaming services to settle a class action lawsuit. The complaint alleged Disney engaged in anticompetitive practices by forcing price increases for live TV streaming services through channel bundling.
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has begun deliberations on 10 local lubricant makers accused of fixing prices from January 2018 to October 2024. The alleged collusion affected sales worth an estimated 2.02 trillion won (US$1.31 billion) and involved products like metalworking fluids and industrial lubricants.
The U.S. Justice Department indicted four Chinese shipping giants for conspiring to fix prices of standard shipping containers by limiting output from 2019-2024, nearly doubling prices. The indictment, filed in January and unsealed Tuesday, targets CIMC, Singamas, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers, and seven of their leaders.
Prosecutors have indicted 25 entities in South Korea's largest food price-fixing case, involving three major food companies and 21 executives accused of colluding to manipulate starch sugar product prices over eight years. The scheme, valued at 10.15 trillion won ($6.7 billion), caused starch prices to rise 73.4% and sugar product prices up to 63.8%. The defendants include Daesang, Sajo CPK, CJ Cheiljedang and the head of the Korea Corn Processing Industry Association.
Prosecutors have indicted 25 people over an eight-year starch sugar collusion scheme worth 10.15 trillion won ($6.7 billion), marking South Korea's largest food price-fixing case. Employees and executives from Daesang, Sajo CPK, and CJ Cheiljedang, along with the head of the Korea Corn Processing Industry Association, are accused of fixing prices and rigging bids from July 2017 to October 2025. Starch prices rose 73.4% and sugar products up 63.8% over the period.
On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta revealed the evidence of alleged price-fixing by Amazon. The state filed a request to the Supreme Court in February for a preliminary injunction to stop Amazon's behavior while the lawsuit it originally filed in 2022 proceeds, and is now making that 16-page document available, "largely unredacted." It lays […]
California AG Rob Bonta's 2022 antitrust lawsuit against Amazon alleges the e-commerce giant pressured vendors to fix or raise prices on competitor websites, including an alleged agreement with Levi Strauss and Walmart on khaki pants priced at $29.99. The trial is scheduled for next year, with a preliminary injunction hearing set for July.
Newly unredacted records in California's lawsuit against Amazon reveal the company pressured independent sellers to raise prices on competitors like Walmart and Target, even by one penny, to maintain lower-price appearance. Trial set for January 2027.
