Government policy, regulations, and legal developments affecting global commerce and retail.
Korea Fair Trade Commission chair Ju Biung-ghi said on September 21 the agency will rewrite its investigation rules after a court stayed its Coupang inspection through September 23, and rejected US House pressure over the case. The dispute ties a supplier-cost probe to a Section 301 petition, a House report and a USD 410 million privacy fine.
Google has pulled free product listings and organic product carousels from search results across the European Economic Area to comply with the Digital Markets Act, days before its September 21 compliance deadline. Retailers now reach shoppers through paid Shopping ads, comparison services or a new aggregator unit.
Seattle City Council votes September 22 on CB 121267, a first-in-the-nation city ban on grocery surveillance pricing that reaches Kroger, Albertsons, Amazon, Walmart and Instacart. The ordinance carries fines of up to $3,000 per violation, a private right of action capped at $1 million, and a September 1, 2027 start date.
India’s amended e-commerce rules start on January 1, 2027, and three signals point to the first enforcement action landing on a quick-commerce or food-delivery platform rather than on Amazon or Flipkart. The scoring window closes March 31, 2027, with the date itself expected to hold.
A federal court has approved a revised FTC order that lifts the Amazon Prime settlement refund cap from $51 to $200 and opens automatic payments to members who used 11 to 20 benefits a year. New payments begin October 1, 2026, with no claim form required.
Senators Tammy Baldwin and Rick Scott asked the FTC on September 17 to investigate whether Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping and Walmart’s Sparky suppress Made in USA products and ignore fraudulent origin labels. The request rests on a Columbia Law School report and a March 2026 executive order that put marketplaces on the hook.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority found on September 15, 2026 that Co-op Group’s completed takeover of Southern Co-op may substantially lessen competition around 19 convenience stores and one pair of funeral sites. The parties have until September 22 to offer store divestments or face a Phase 2 investigation.
The FTC is likely to finalize its personalized pricing disclosure statement, three-part test intact, by the end of Q1 2027, with the first enforcement matter landing on food delivery or grocery by mid-2027. Three regulatory tells from the last four weeks point that way.
The British Independent Retailers Association is pressing Chancellor John Healey to restore the 75% retail rates discount and double the Employment Allowance at the 28 October Budget. We set out the six asks, the 2026/27 multipliers and what a typical shop’s bill looks like under each scenario.
India has notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, effective January 1, 2027, adding a 30-day prior price test, sponsored listing labels, dark pattern self-audits and mandatory National Consumer Helpline integration. Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and the quick-commerce apps have 16 weeks to comply.