The American Online Retailers represents domestic e-commerce retailers harmed by unfair trade practices perpetrated by foreign sellers. We work with legislators, public interest groups, and other coalitions to advocate for legislative, administrative, and policy changes to address this widespread issue.

In recent years, the rapid growth of foreign sellers on e-commerce platforms like Amazon has created significant challenges for American retailers. Foreign sellers exploit trade loopholes to avoid tariffs, income taxes, and regulatory scrutiny. The rise of foreign sellers has also had an adverse affect on the American economy, lowering employment opportunities in the United States.

A significant portion of foreign sellers also systematically engage in unethical and unfair trade practices, including fake reviews, bribery of Amazon employees, keyword manipulation, review-bombing, and customs evasion. These practices face steep penalties in the United States. But for foreign sellers, Amazon has largely turned a blind eye.

American sellers, who once made up a vast majority of sellers on e-commerce platforms, now account for less than 48% of top sellers on Amazon, with Chinese sellers now making up the majority.

The rise of Chinese sellers has not only affected the competitive landscape but has also led to broader economic decline. American companies are going bankrupt, leading to job losses and increased hardship in local communities.

By exploiting the Fulfillment by Amazon system, Chinese sellers get better import rates and better deals as American sellers are increasingly cut out. We must change our trade policies to ensure that American sellers are protected from unfair trade practices.

We are advocating for trade policy fixes to ensure that Chinese sellers don’t have unfair competitive advantages on our e-commerce platforms.