According to a May 28th report from Reuters news service, Wal-Mart is being investigated by Mexican government anti-trust officials for engaging in possible noncompetitive practices. Some Mexican distributors apparently complained to the government that Wal-Mart was setting prices by threatening not to buy goods unless their price was met. The Mexican Competition Commission is expected to release this week its findings on the Walmex corporation, which is controlled by Wal-Mart Defenders of Wal-Mart claim that its size allows it to negotiate prices with suppliers, and its central distribution system helps to keep prices down as well. One Walmex official told Reuters that the company will cooperate with any investigation. “We are the first to want this to be cleared up,” Walmex was quoted by Reuters.
Wal-Mart has faced similar anti-competitive charges in a number of U.S. and international venues. In Arkansas, Wisconsin and other states, Wal-Mart has been charged with below cost pricing. And in Germany, Wal-Mart was forced to raise its prices on a number of basic food items. For more information on this subject, search the Newsflash database by the word “pricing.”
