Amazon’s collusion drove up consumer prices, California says, citing new evidence

BusinessInternationalAmazon's collusion drove up consumer prices, California says, citing new evidenceBy Reuters -Apr 21, 2026Amazon.com worked behind the scenes with merchants such as Levi ‌Strauss to prod online rivals such as Home Depot, Walmart and Chewy to raise prices for consumers so it would not be undercut, California’s attorney general said on Monday. Evidence detailing alleged efforts to fix prices was unsealed on Monday, as part of Attorney ​General Rob Bonta’s 3-1/2-year-old antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. The lawsuit also seeks to recoup what Bonta called ill-gotten ​profits. A trial is scheduled for January 19, 2027. “Amazon is illegally working to rake ⁠in the profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices,” Bonta said ​in a statement. The Seattle-based retailer has said its agreements with merchants are legal and benefit consumers through increased product ​selection, appropriate stocking and competitive prices. In a statement it maintained that the filing was an attempt by California to “distract from the weakness” of its case. “Amazon is consistently identified as America’s lowest-priced online retailer,” the company said. “Amazon looks forward to responding in court.” In its ​filing in San Francisco Superior Court, California described dozens of cases of alleged price-fixing that boosted prices for ​goods such as khaki pants, fertilizer, eye drops and dog treats. Bonta has said the alleged collusion leads merchants and rivals to ‌raise prices ⁠or make products temporarily unavailable so Amazon wouldn’t have to price match. AMAZON SURPASSES WALMART IN REVENUE The filing described Levi Strauss’ alleged effort to persuade Walmart to charge $29.99 for Easy Khaki Classic pants after Amazon expressed “concern” with Walmart’s original $25.47 price. California said Amazon’s complaint about lower fertilizer prices prompted Home Depot’s agreement “to raise the prices this time,” while Amazon ​pushed Allergan, now part...