California says Amazon coerced companies like Walmart and Levi's into illegally raising prices

• A California judge accused Amazon of price-fixing and contributing to the affordability crisis in the US.
• Attorney General Rob Bonta said Amazon asked vendors like Levi's to pressure Walmart into raising prices.
• The case will go into trial in January 2027.

A California prosecutor is accusing Amazon of illegally raising prices for Americans.

In a press release on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that Amazon is price fixing and colluding with vendors and retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires.

"Amid a crisis of affordability, Amazon is illegally working to rake in profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices," Bonta said. "We'll see them in court."

In the press release, he said he had publicly released evidence of Amazon's price-fixing, linking to a 19-page memo. Among many other examples in the memo, Bonta wrote that Amazon asked the apparel brand Levi's to pressure Walmart into raising the price of a pair of its khaki pants from about $25 to $29 to match Amazon's listing price.

Other companies mentioned in the filing include Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, clothing brand Hanes, and pet product brand Chewy.

Bonta asked the court to take action against Amazon for price fixing while the case proceeds and to require Amazon to stop "coercing its vendors to serve as the go-between with its competitors." The case will go to trial in January 2027.

In response to a request for comment, an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that the motion is a "transparent attempt to distract from the weakness of its case."

The spokesperson added that Bonta filed the motion more than three years after filing his original complaint. In 2022, Bonta said in the lawsuit that Amazon coerced sellers into signing agreements stating they would not sell their goods at a lower price to other retailers.

"Amazon is consistently identified as America's lowest-priced online retailer, and we're proud of the low prices customers find when shopping in our store," the Amazon spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, spokespersons for Levi's and Walmart declined to comment, both saying they were not parties to the litigation.

Amazon's stock price is up about 43% in the past year.