Amazon urges US authorities to pass a law against overpricing in a national crisis

Representatives of the Amazon trading platform requested to the US Congress with a request to issue a law prohibiting inflating prices for goods in conditions of a national crisis. The decision was made against the backdrop of rising prices for such vitally important goods in modern realities as hand sanitizers and protective masks.

Amazon Vice President of Public Policy Brian Huseman published an open letter outlining the company's ongoing efforts to combat price gouging. To date, it has already removed half a million overpriced products and suspended nearly 4000 accounts from sellers who violated its fair pricing policy.

In a letter to investors, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos saidthat they have set up special lines of communication with state attorneys general to report price gouging directly to them. Amazon representatives also noted that the company cannot fully suppress the inflated cost of goods until the US authorities issue a law operating at the federal level.

At the moment, laws prohibiting the setting of high prices for vital goods are only in force in some states in America. After the release of the federal law, sellers will have no chance to escape punishment for violating pricing policies, and almost everyone would adhere to the new rules. Amazon and other marketplaces could provide people with access to fair-priced products.

It is noteworthy that Amazon is asking Congress to clearly indicate in the law exactly which products fall under the new rules. In addition, it is important for the authorities to set pricing standards. After the adoption of the law, only the sellers themselves who place goods on trading platforms will be responsible for inflating prices. Representatives of Amazon and other sites, if anything happens, will not be guilty of anything.

Amazon seeks justice, but in some cases it itself does not “play” fairly. Recently, journalists from the Wall Street Journal conducted an investigation and Found outthat company employees used secret data from independent sellers to create their own products that could be in high demand. Regulatory authorities are already investigating the matter.

Source: 3dnews.ru