WASHINGTON – Trade groups form a national coalition to push for stricter antitrust laws, including measures taken by Amazon.com Inc. may force to clear away some of its business lines.
The efforts will be launched on Tuesday by trade groups representing small hardware stores, office suppliers, booksellers, groceries and others, along with business groups from 12 cities, organizers say. Traders plan to set up their congressional representatives for stricter antitrust laws and stricter enforcement of existing ones.
The groups, which collectively represent thousands of businesses, want federal legislation that could 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 Antitrust Legislative Subcommittee are considering it under legislation because it weighs in on amendments to U.S. antitrust law, although no bill has been enacted yet.
The dealer groups also want a stricter application of competition laws and legal changes that will make it easier for the government to win antitrust lawsuits against large companies.