most-favored nations

An expression that refers to a legal clause in Amazon contracts with sellers that kept sellers from selling the same product(s) for less on any other website.

Historical perspective: Amazon quietly ended a controversial practice that restricted sellers in its marketplace, said Axios.com in March, 2019. The retail giant had insisted on a “most-favored nations” clause in contracts with sellers that kept them from selling the same products for less on any other website. Lawmakers in the U.S. and regulators in Europe have called the requirement anti-competitive. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D.-Conn.) asked regulators last year to investigate the requirements for possible antitrust violations. Amazon had already dropped the requirement in Europe following investigations from regulators in the U.K. and Germany. The change means that buyers may now find items from the same sellers for less on other platforms, or on a seller’s own website.