Apple: Why this country has imposed a fine of $218 million on Apple and Amazon

Back in 2018, Apple and Amazon struck a deal which raised a few eyebrows. The deal agreed between the two tech giants restricted the sale of Apple and Beats products to Apple authorised resellers. US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and India, were the countries which were part of the deal. Now, Spain has accused the two companies of collusion. According to a report by Reuters, Spain’s antitrust body said that “The two companies restricted without justification the number of sellers of Apple products on the Amazon website in Spain.”
What was the deal all about?
In 2018, when the two companies had signed the deal, Amazon said it “is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing selection of the products we know customers want. We look forward to expanding our assortment of Apple and Beats products globally.”
The deal allowed Amazon to sell Apple products through authorised Apple resellers only and not through any other third-party seller. The argument made by the two companies was that it will ensure genuine Apple products are made available to customers buying them from Amazon.
Why is Spain imposing a fine on the two companies?
Spain has imposed a fine of $218 million on both companies as it deems the deal anti-competitive. A similar fine was imposed by Italy in 2021 as it accused both the companies of fixing prices of products. Italy had fined Apple €134.5 million, and Amazon €68.7 million.
However, Apple and Amazon appealed the decision and got it overturned in the court.
As of now, neither company has commented on Spain’s decision to fine them. However, it is expected that both Amazon and Apple will appeal the decision like they had done in Italy.