To view and download our newest publication go to our Digital Commons page at: https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr/
Volume 36, Issue 2 is Now Live!
Congratulations Option 3!
We’re so proud of our Option 3 writers for finishing their Comments despite the stressors of school and the pandemic!
Congratulations to Volume 37
AUILR is proud to present our new Executive Board, Editorial Board, and Senior Staff Members. We look forward to seeing what everyone will accomplish in the future!
Amidst a global pandemic, AUILR publishes historic Issue 4 of Vol. 35
Washington, D.C. — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and an abrupt move off campus, the staff of AUILR Volume 35 edited, wrote, and published the latest issue of Washington College of Law’s international law review. Featuring articles by Gino Scaccia, Stuart Ford, Dru Brenner-Beck, Kristie A. Bluett, William T. Worster and with student comments from Elisabeth Meddin, David Goad, and Ruslan Klafehn, Issue 4 presents ground-breaking analysis and perspectives on current global issues.
The latest issue is available for download here.
To begin an unusual school year, Vol. 36 features new editors and additional talent
Washington, D.C. — To start the 2020 -2021 academic year at Washington College of Law at American University, the staff of Volume 36 of the American University International Law Review are excited to welcome new editors and staff to our team. Our talent never ceases to impress and we look forward to working together to continue AUILR’s legacy of publishing leading-edge content.
New staff elected to Volume 36
Washington, D.C. – The American University International Law Review is pleased to announce the 2020 new staff members. This year’s candidates were the best and brightest yet. Welcome to the AUILR family, Junior Staffers!
Housed at the Washington College of Law, the American University International Law Review is one of the top 25 most cited International Law journals in the nation.
RELEASE: Call for Papers
CALL FOR PAPERS:
Multilateralism, International Organizations, and the Global Response to COVID-19
The American University International Law Review (AUILR) is now accepting article submissions on topics for online publication related to international law and international organizations’ responses to global pandemics, including and especially COVID-19. In light of the current global trend shifting toward more nationalistic and authoritarian approaches in responding to the current public health crisis, AUILR is specifically seeking articles that explore the importance of multilateralism during global pandemics. In this respect, we seek original contributions by academics and practitioners demonstrating why the work of International Organizations (WTO, WHO, UN, EU, AU, OAS), Supranational and International Courts, Transnational Non-Governmental Organization, or other expert networks is essential in global responses in worldwide health crises.
While AUILR considers submissions of varying lengths and styles on topics ranging from extensive treatment of specific international legal topics to broader discussions of international legal issues, we are currently seeking to publish articles of roughly 1,000-1,500 words that provide timely and original legal analysis. Additionally, AUILR encourages scholarship that is understandable to those unfamiliar with the topic and is supported by responsive and authoritative endnotes. The citation format should conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed. 2015). Following the acceptance and editing process of submitted articles, which will be handled entirely by the AUILR staff, AUILR will publish the work on www.auilrblog.com as part of its re-launch.
The most recent U.S. News and World Report ranked American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) as a Top-5 International Law program in the nation, tied for fourth place with Yale and Columbia Law School. AUILR is one of the twenty-five most frequently cited international and comparative student law reviews in the United States. AUILR proudly shares a special relationship with the Washington College of Law’s prestigious faculty of the International and Comparative Legal Studies Program and the world-renowned Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Journal also annually publishes a unique bilingual collection of English- and Spanish-language scholarship on timely issues related to the proceedings of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Furthermore, AUILR collaborates with the American Society of International Law (ASIL), which gives the Journal the privilege of annually publishing the Grotius Lecture and Response from ASIL’s Annual Meeting.
AUILR encourages legal practitioners and scholars to submit their work for potential publication and direct questions to the Digital Articles Editor at the contact information below.
We look forward to working with you and welcome you to let us be the platform for your ideas.
Sincerely,
Emma Kenyon
Digital Articles Editor
American University International Law Review
Email: ilr-digit@wcl.american.edu
COVID-19 has hit Haiti, too
by DeVaughn Jones*
“We have no protections whatsoever. We’re in God’s hands.” – A Haitian woman[1]
Americans have admirably mobilized to protect our most vulnerable people from the shocking spread of COVID-19. As we increase those efforts over these next few weeks, we must remember to include the most vulnerable geographic neighbors[2] we have:
Haitians.
Around 11.5 million people live in Haiti,[3] and most of them live in extreme poverty; around 4.5 million Haitians were at risk of dying of starvation before Coronavirus was an issue.[4] Almost all Haitians are also “highly vulnerable” to natural disaster.[5] They are prematurely aged by their environment. Malnutrition, poor hygiene, and unreliable shelter make Haitians physiologically older than non-Haitians who have lived the same number of years.[6] There are approximately 300,000 HIV/AIDS positive Haitians, many of whom are incarcerated in prisons so overcrowded that they are described as “inhumane.”[7] This uniquely hostile environment renders the Haitian people less disease-resistant and dramatically increases their odds of dying from sicknesses that are non-fatal everywhere else.[8]
The Haitian public health system is not equipped to address such dramatic health issues. Recent surveys counted only 124 ICU beds in Haiti; less than seventy of these beds supported patient ventilation, and outside the ICUs, that number dropped to less than ten.[9] Further, there is a severe shortage of health workers, including doctors and nurses, and there are gaps in services across all levels of the Haitian healthcare system.[10] It is hard to imagine a more inviting environment for an infectious disease to unforgivingly spread. [11]
Now that COVID-19 is already in Haiti,[12] its effects will be compounded by Haitians’ physiological vulnerability. Haitians’ social response is also problematic; most Haitians are either unaware of COVID-19 or do not trust foreign reports about it.[13] Unchecked, this global crisis will have uniquely tragic effects in Haiti. At minimum, the world must be aware of that. Moving forward, the United States should immediately and aggressively provide COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
The United States is a leading party in the global commitment to “prevent, protect against, [and] provide a public health response to the international spread of disease.”[14] USAID’s $62 million commitment to combat third-world COVID-19 outbreaks is a good start.[15] In the interest of speed and efficiency, we may consider temporarily relaxing or suspending existing restrictions on sending aid funds to Haiti.[16] Afterward, we can continue to support our ongoing agreements to modernize global public health infrastructure on a global scale.[17]
In the meantime, COVID-19 should be fought in communities where it will hurt the worst. Scientifically, legally, and morally – this is the right thing for a global leader to do. There is no time to waste.[18]
*DeVaughn Jones is a second year law student at Washington College of Law at American University. He is a staff member of the American University International Law Review.
[1] LeMaire et al., infra note 13.
[2] Compare Recommended Travel Mode from Washington, DC to Miami, Google Maps, https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Washington+D.C.,+DC/Miami,+FL/@32.0134525,-88.3682513,5z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x89b7c6de5af6e45b:0xc2524522d4885d2a!2m2!1d-77.0368707!2d38.9071923!1m5!1m1!1s0x88d9b0a20ec8c111:0xff96f271ddad4f65!2m2!1d-80.1917902!2d25.7616798 (1053 miles), with Recommended Travel Mode from Haiti to Miami, Google Maps, https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Haiti/Miami,+FL/@22.304344,-80.7351579,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x8eb6c6f37fcbbb11:0xb51438b24c54f6d3!2m2!1d-72.285215!2d18.971187!1m5!1m1!1s0x88d9b0a20ec8c111:0xff96f271ddad4f65!2m2!1d-80.1917902!2d25.7616798 (Haiti is about 400 miles closer to Miami than Washington, DC).
[3] Haiti Population 2020, World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/haiti-population/ (last visited Mar. 22, 2020).
[4] See The World Bank Group, infra note 5 (more than half of Haitians live on less than $2.41 USD per day, and more than one-fifth live on less than $1.23 per day); seealso John Carroll, Haiti and Coronavirus – Can You Imagine?, Dispatches From Haiti (Feb. 27, 2020), http://blogs.pjstar.com/haiti/2020/02/27/haiti-and-coronavirus-can-you-imagine/ (stating that 4.5 million Haitians are “predicted to be on the verge of starvation”).
[5] The World Bank Group, Overview, The World Bank in Haiti,https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview#1 (last visited Mar. 22, 2020) (“More than 96% of the population is exposed to . . . natural hazards.”).
[6] SeePhysiological Age, Medical Dictionary,https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/physiological+age (“The relative age of a person, especially when comparing that individual’s physical status with those of other persons of the same chronological age.”).
[7] See U.S. Dep’t of State, Office of the U.S. Glob. AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy, Haiti Country Operational Plan (COP) 2019 Strategic Direction Summary 6 (Jun. 11, 2019) [hereinafter, 2019 Haiti COP] (“Haiti has a national HIV/AIDS prevalence of 2.7%, with higher prevalence in major cities and among men who have sex with men . . . female sex workers . . . and prison populations.”); Teresa Bo, Haiti Prisons: Overcrowding a Major Problem, Al Jazeera (Jan. 5, 2018), https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/haiti-prisons-overcrowding-major-problem-180105130018827.html (“Haiti has some of the most overcrowded prisons in the world…around 11,000 inmates live in inhumane conditions.”); Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office for Immigration Review, Haiti 2018 Human Rights Report 4 (2018) (“Most [inmates] died from starvation, anemia brought on by malnutrition, tuberculosis, or other communicable diseases.”).
[8] Arachu Castro et al., Infectious Disease in Haiti, 4 EMBO Rep. (2003), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1326436/pdf/4-embor844.pdf (discussing how systemic poverty in Haiti “predisposes [Haitians] to pathogenic vulnerability by shaping the risk of infection and subsequent disease reactivation”).
[9] Lia Losonczy et al., Critical Care Capacity in Haiti: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey, 14 PLOS One 2 (2019).
[10] 2019 Haiti COP, supra note 7, at 6.
[11] See Castro et al., supra note 8 (explaining how “[t]he social contexts in which…patients bec[o]me infected,” are integral to determining how bad an infection will be); see also Kavita Vinekar et al., Hospitalizations and Deaths Because of Respiratory and Diarrheal Diseases Among Haitian Children Under Five Years of Age, 2011–2013, Pediatric Infectious Disease J. (Oct. 1, 2016) (“Respiratory and diarrheal diseases contributed to more than half of hospitalizations and almost a third of deaths in children younger than 5 years in Haiti.”). Compare, e.g., Harvard Medical School, Coronavirus Resource Center, As Coronavirus Spreads, Many Questions and Some Answers (last updated Mar. 20, 2020),https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-resource-center (stating that Coronavirus hosts with underlying conditions such as AIDS have a higher chance of developing deadly pneumonia), with 2019 Haiti COP, supra note 7, at 6 (Haitian HIV/AIDs prevalence is around 3% of the total population).
[12] Jovenel Moise, President of Haiti, Adresse a la Nation du President Jovenel Moise / Coronavirus [President Jovenel Moise’s Address to the Nation / Coronavirus], YouTube (Mar. 19, 2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX2oATBSeyY (confirming two Coronavirus cases in Haiti).
[13] Sandra Lemaire et al., Conspiracy Theories, Misinformation Abound as Haitians Brace for Coronavirus, VOA News (Mar. 13, 2020),https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/conspiracy-theories-misinformation-abound-haitians-brace (describing Haitians as “woefully uninformed” about Coronavirus).
[14] World Health Org., International Health Regulations (2005) 10 (2nd ed. 2008);Revision of the International Health Regulations, Rep. of the World Health Assembly on Its Fifty-Eighth Session, 14, U.N. Doc. No. WHA58/2005/REC/1 (2005).
[15] Press Release, Mark Green, USAID Adm’r, Statement on a Second Funding Tranche of $62 Million in Assistance to Respond to the Pandemic of COVID-19 (Mar. 18, 2020),https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/mar-18-2020-statement-administrator-green-second-funding-tranche-62.
[16] See generally USAID, FAQ on USAID Funding in Haiti,https://www.usaid.gov/faq-usaid-funding-haiti, (last visited Mar. 22, 2020) (providing background on the existing, and stringent, regulatory framework that controls aid funding sent from USAID to Haiti).
[17] See USAID, USAID/HAITI Strategic Framework 2018-2020 3 (2018) (“All of USAID/Haiti’s programs will reflect our Administrator’s organizing principle that the purpose of foreign assistance should be ending its need to exist.”); see also International Health Regulations, supra note 14.
[18] Bill Gates, How to Respond to COVID-19, GatesNotes (Feb. 28, 2020), https://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/How-to-respond-to-COVID-19.
U.S. News and World Report Rank WCL International Law Top Five in Nation
Washington, D.C. — Earlier this week, U.S. News and World Report ranked Washington College of Law at American University a top 5 International Law program. Tying with contemporaries at Columbia and Yale, the WCL International Law program leads within the nation.
Sherwet Witherington, AUILR’s incoming Editor-in-Chief reflects, “The international student body at WCL is unparalleled in its value and its importance in the practice of law. The word ‘international’ evokes broader horizons, unique perspectives, and an appreciation for others, their cultures, and their laws. WCL isn’t just looking for the best students, it has the students who manifest the most diverse experiences, and by association their outlooks. AUILR has always been a meaningful avenue to reflect the fantastic international academic community at WCL and will continue to do so with enthusiasm and pride.”
As a proud partner with this esteemed program, AUILR congratulates WCL IL and looks forward to many more exciting years of #thinkingglobally. You can find the full list here.
Vol. 35, Issue 2 is now available!
Washington, D.C. — American University International Law Review has published Volume 35, Issue 2. This issue discusses timely subjects including trademark law, youth justice, and the hallmark Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Human Rights Award. Issue 2 is available for PDF download here.
AUILR is one of the top 10 most downloaded International Law reviews in the nation and a proud partner of the American University International Law program.
Making the Case for Amazon
MAKING THE CASE FOR AMAZON
Kaylynn Noethlich*
“The Case Against Amazon” is a familiar phrase that dominates headlines and underpins popular political platforms.[i] Yet, not long ago, and arguably still today, Amazon was the poster child of consumer benefits – consistently bringing more products at lower prices through innovative delivery methods to consumers across the globe. Above all else, Amazon’s marketplace gave consumers unprecedented choice. Today, consumers are frequently presented with over 10,000 options when ordering a product — spanning across brands, prices, and colors — when previously they had to choose from the select few a store carried.[ii]
Despite the benefits consumers continue to enjoy from using Amazon’s marketplace, antitrust authorities in the U.S. and the E.U. have publicly opened investigations into the company.[iii] Both countries’ authorities traditionally use the “consumer welfare” standard when evaluating the competitive harm in a marketplace — meaning the focus is on the ultimate harm and loss of welfare to consumers, not competitors.[iv] Thus, the announcement of an investigation into Amazon immediately raised the question — are consumers really being harmed?
According to the European Commission (E.C.), its investigation targets the standard agreements between Amazon and marketplace sellers with a focus on whether Amazon misuses third-party seller data from its marketplace to negatively impact competition.[v] Essentially, the E.C. alleges that Amazon collects large quantities of data on its marketplace enabling it to predict which products are in high demand. Because Amazon is both a retailer (it sells its own products on the marketplace) and the owner of the marketplace, Amazon has the ability to use its data analysis to create products that perform well, sell them at a lower price, and ultimately drive out any competitors.[vi] Unlike the E.C., U.S. antitrust authorities do not publicly reveal reasons for their investigations. However, experts contend that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating under a similar theory.[vii]
Although politicians, investigators, and reporters appear united in making the case against Amazon, this article makes the case for Amazon.[viii]
Amazon does not have the requisite monopoly power.
Both the U.S. and the E.U. have laws preventing the abuse of a dominant position in a given marketplace. In order to have a “dominant position” in a market, a company typically must comprise at least 30% – 40% of the relevant market and have monopolistic power that is “durable rather than fleeting.”[ix]
There are many alternative sources for the products that Amazon sells, for instance Walmart. Indeed, Walmart’s lower prices and wider range of products was once viewed as the end of small business.[x] Although public perception often paints Amazon as the biggest retailer player today, Walmart is still more than double Amazon’s size as a general retailer.[xi] Numerous other retailers dwarf Amazon in discrete product categories in which Amazon competes. Even on its own marketplace, Amazon has been surpassed by third-party retailers which account for approximately 58% of Amazon’s retail unit sales.[xii]
Although it can be argued Amazon’s position in particular retail categories, such as books, music, and videos, meets the level of monopolistic power, Amazon operating as a general retailer on its marketplace alongside third-party retailers does not.[xiii]
Amazon is not raising rivals’ costs by denying access to an “essential facility.”
Amazon operates as an open marketplace to large and small retailers alike. Amazon developed a standard pricing model to access its marketplace — for low volume sellers Amazon receives $0.99 for each product sold and professional sellers pay $39.99 a month, both responsible for any selling fees.[xiv] Amazon allows third-party retailers to compete in various product categories, some requiring approval (such as refurbished products), not singling out product markets Amazon most successfully competes in.[xv] The exception to this rule includes: (1) items often counterfeited; (2) items easily stolen from retail stores; (3) brands that do not want the perceived value decreased; and (4) brands sold exclusively elsewhere.[xvi] Additionally, when a seller (or rival) is removed, Amazon provides the seller 30-days-notice for removing the seller along with a formal reason explaining the removal.[xvii]
Moreover, 80% of Amazon merchants also sell their products through other channels, including Walmart, retailer owned websites, eBay, Jet, and other brick-and-mortar stores.[xviii] Amazon represents only a single platform among a multitude available to professional sellers, not a singular controlled essential facility.
Even if Amazon did deny access to an “essential facility” they do not have power over price.
Amazon offers private label products within its marketplace at a lower price, as many retailers often do.[xix] Grocery stores typically carry store-branded products, similar to how pharmacies carry generic medication identical to popular brands. Offering private label products to match branded products is not a new phenomenon. Moreover, offering private label products at lower prices and with better shelf placement is commonplace.[xx]
To make a convincing argument that Amazon has power over price one would need to promulgate the specious theory that private-label products have power over branded-product pricing. Private label products typically peg prices to a non-public percentage of branded products (e.g., CVS selling its private-label goods at a 30% mark-down compared to branded drugs). Because companies rarely advertise their private-label products and have complete control over shelf-placement, it allows them to sell these products at a lower price than branded products. Additionally, consumers will often fall into the categories of “price sensitive” or “non-price sensitive” and “brand sensitive” or “non-brand sensitive.” These categories allow both brands and private-label products to successfully sell at different price points.[xxi] This is Amazon’s marketplace strategy.
Even if none of the above is true, Amazon offers immense benefits to consumers and there is no harm.
U.S. and E.U. antitrust laws diverge on this point. If Amazon possesses a “dominant position” in the E.U., it has a “special responsibility” to “ensure that its conduct does not distort competition.”[xxii] Meaning, if any of the above is true, then Amazon’s consumer benefits likely will not offset its special responsibility in the marketplace because of distortions to competition through increased costs to rivals.[xxiii]
Although no “special responsibility” exists in U.S. antitrust law, a dominant player merely has a duty not to abuse their dominant position, which results in a determinant to the competitive marketplace and ultimately consumers. Pinpointing the ultimate harm to consumers proves difficult because Amazon provides its customers with a wide array of choice, quality, prices, and innovative delivery methods. Concluding Amazon violated antitrust laws would likely require antitrust authorities to look beyond the traditional consumer welfare standard and create uncertainty moving forward for companies facing antitrust scrutiny.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
* J.D. Candidate, May 2020, American University Washington College of Law; B.B.A., Economics, 2017, Drake University. Kaylynn Noethlich previously worked at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission as a legal intern, in addition to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as a summer associate in their Antitrust & Competition group in London and D.C.
[i] See generally Simon Van Dorpe, The Case Against Amazon, POLITICO (Mar. 4, 2019, 1:14 AM CET), https://www.politico.eu/article/amazon-europe-competition-giveth-and-amazon-taketh-away/ (discussing the EC’s investigation in Amazon’s agreements with retailers); Jack Kelly, Senator Elizabeth Warren Says ‘It’s Time To Break Up Amazon, Google And Facebook’— And Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Fights Back, Forbes (Oct. 2, 2019, 10:43 AM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/10/02/senator-elizabeth-warren-says-its-time-to-break-up-amazon-google-and-facebook-and-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-fights-back/#456a1cef6791 (highlighting presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s position on “big tech”); Madeleine Joung, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple Could Face Antitrust Investigations. How Do Those Work?, Time: Politics (June 5, 2019), https://time.com/5601245/google-amazon-facebook-apple-antitrust/ (comparing today’s antitrust investigations to the 2000 Microsoft era cases); see also Lina M. Khan, Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox, 126 Yale L. J. 710 (2016) (arguing the current antitrust framework is unequipped to handle the competition challenges in the modern economy).
[ii] See, e.g., Search Results from Amazon for a “Suitcase,” Amazon Italy, http://www.amazon.it (type in general search bar “suitcase”; then look to the left of the page above the products listings to see the number of search results); Search Results from Amazon for a “Suitcase,” Amazon United States, http://www.amazon.com (type in general search bar “carry-on suitcase”; then look to the left of the page above the products listings to see the number of search results).
[iii] Eur. Comm’n Press Release IP/19/4291, Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct of Amazon (July 17, 2019), https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-4291_en.htm.
[iv] See Svend Albæk, Consumer Welfare in EU Competition Policy, in Aims and Values in Competition Policy 67, 68 (Ulla Neergaard & Christian Bergqvist eds., 2013), https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/competition/economist/consumer_welfare_2013_en.pdf (“Vice-President Almunia said in a speech shortly after he was nominated commissioner in charge of competition policy that ‘[a]ll of us here today know very well what our ultimate objective is: Competition policy is a tool at the service of consumers. Consumer welfare is at the heart of our policy and its achievement drives our priorities and guides our decisions.”); Russell Pittman, Consumer Surplus as the Appropriate Standard for Antitrust Enforcement, Economic Analysis Group Discussion Paper, June 2017, https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atr/legacy/2007/09/28/225696.pdf.
[v] Eur. Comm’n Press Release IP/19/4291, Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct of Amazon (July 17, 2019), https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-4291_en.htm.
[vi] Hypothetical example: Amazon sees a spike in demand for Swell water bottles. It then creates a nearly identical version of the water bottle and sells it under a private label brand at a much lower price, hoping consumers switch from Swell water bottles and start buying Amazon’s private label product.
[vii] Samuel R. Miller, Is Amazon Violating the Antitrust Laws?, Verdict: Justia (July 25, 2019), https://verdict.justia.com/2019/07/25/is-amazon-violating-the-antitrust-laws.
[viii] Although there are several theories of harm surrounding multiple Amazon practices, this article will only focus on the allegations of Amazon’s misuse of third-party retailer data.
[ix] U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Competition and Monopoly: Single-Firm Conduct Under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, at 5 (2008), https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atr/legacy/2008/09/12/236681_chapter1.pdf (“Section 2 of the Sherman Act makes it unlawful for any person to “monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations . . . .”); Eur. Comm’n, Competition: Antitrust Procedures in Abuse of Dominance (July 2013), https://ec.europa.eu/competition/publications/factsheets/antitrust_procedures_102_en.pdf (“Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits abusive conduct by companies that have a dominant position on a particular market.”).
[x] Kate Taylor, Walmart Destroyed Retail, Bus. Insider (Aug. 15, 2016, 10:25 PM), https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-destroyed-retail-2016-8?IR=T.
[xi] See Amazon vs Walmart – Revenues and Profits Comparison 1999-2018, MGM Research (2018), https://mgmresearch.com/amazon-vs-walmart-revenues-and-profits-comparison-1999-2018/ (reporting $514 billion in revenue for Walmart and $233 billion for Amazon in 2018).
[xii] Andrew Martins, Amazon Announces Changes for Third-Party Sellers in Response to EU Oversight Threat, Bus News Daily: Tech. (July 17, 2019, 1:05 PM), https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15212-amazon-changes-for-third-party-sellers.html.
[xiii] See Matt Day & Jackie Gu, The Enormous Numbers Behind Amazon’s Market Reach, Bloomberg (Mar. 27, 2019), https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-amazon-reach-across-markets/ (reporting Amazon’s e-commerce market share in the category of “books, music, video” is 80%); see also Marc Bain, Amazon’s unruly third-party marketplace now sells more stuff than Amazon itself, Quartz: Letters from Bezos (Apr. 19, 2018), https://qz.com/1256651/amazon-marketplace-sold-more-stuff-than-amazon-itself-in-2017/ (noting more than half of the products sold on Amazon’s marketplace are now third-party retailers).
[xiv] Sell on Amazon: Benefits, Amazon Services (last visited Oct. 25, 2019) https://services.amazon.com/selling/benefits.html.
[xv] Sell on Amazon: Categories, Amazon Services (last visited Oct. 25, 2019), https://services.amazon.com/services/soa-approval-category.html.
[xvi] The Known Brands That Are Not Allowed to be Sold by Amazon Third Party Sellers, The Selling Family (last visited Oct. 20, 2019), https://thesellingfamily.com/the-known-brands-that-are-not-allowed-to-be-sold-by-amazon-third-party-sellers/.
[xvii] Andrew Martins, Amazon Announces Changes for Third-Party Sellers in Response to EU Oversight Threat, Bus News Daily: Tech. (July 17, 2019, 1:05 PM), https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15212-amazon-changes-for-third-party-sellers.html.
[xviii] Rani Molla & Jason Del Rey, A Fifth of Professional Amazon Merchants Sell More Than $1 Million a Year – Double The Share from Last Year, Vox: Recode (May 23, 2018, 4:02 PM), https://www.vox.com/2018/5/23/17380088/amazon-sellers-survey-third-party-marketplace-walmart-ebay.
[xix] Simon Van Dorpe, The Case Against Amazon, POLITICO (Mar. 4, 2019, 1:14 AM CET), https://www.politico.eu/article/amazon-europe-competition-giveth-and-amazon-taketh-away/.
[xx] Private Label Manufacturers Association International Council, World of Private Label: Industry News (2019), https://www.plmainternational.com/industry-news/private-label-today (outlining the growth of market share for private-label products).
[xxi] John Quelch & David Harding, Brands Versus Private Labels: Fighting to Win, Harv. Bus. Rev.: Marketing (Jan. 1996), https://hbr.org/1996/01/brands-versus-private-labels-fighting-to-win (claiming manufacturers of brand-name products can temper any challenge posed by private-label goods).
[xxii] Eur. Comm’n, Competition: Antitrust Procedures in Abuse of Dominance (July 2013), https://ec.europa.eu/competition/publications/factsheets/antitrust_procedures_102_en.pdf (“Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits abusive conduct by companies that have a dominant position on a particular market.”).
[xxiii] Id.
The American University International Law Review 