German antitrust agency shelves Amazon probe

German antitrust regulators say they've shelved a case against Amazon.com Inc. after the American online retailer agreed to lift a regulation prohibiting third-party traders from selling their products cheaper elsewhere.

The Federal Cartel Office said Tuesday that Amazon announced in August it would end its "price parity" policy and that the office decided to shelve the case after interviewing Amazon Marketplace retailers who "expressly confirmed these measures have been implemented."

The office began investigating in February on suspicion Amazon's conditions on its Marketplace traders violated antitrust rules by unduly hindering its competitors.

It said it had conducted its investigation in cooperation with the British Office of Fair Trading and the EU's European Competition Network and that the prohibition of the "price parity" policy would apply Europe-wide

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