1. E-Commerce Regulation in Luxembourg
A business perspective
Michael Miller
European Legal Director
15 March 2006, Luxembourg

2. Agenda About Amazon : Setting the Context
Making law – our expectations
Ten Principles of Better E-commerce Regulation

3. About Amazon

4. Amazon’s Evolution Home Garage - 1994 Where we started
Where we are now
Home Garage
Worldwide company
$0.5 Million
$8.5 Billion

5. Amazon Today 45% sales from International segments (TTM)
32 categories of products on-line

6. Amazon’s expansion strategy

7. Amazon and the Customer
Obsess over customers : From the beginning, our focus has been on offering our customers compelling value… Word of mouth remains the most powerful customer acquisition tool we have, and we are grateful for the trust our customers have placed in us. Repeat purchases and word of mouth have combined to make Amazon.com the market leader in online bookselling. (Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO Amazon.com,Inc., 1997 Letter to Shareholders)
Building trust through outstanding customer service and consumer friendly policies is good for business

8. Making law – our expectations
“True” Consultation with industry
Transparency throughout the law making process
Dialogue
Resulting in Regulations which satisfy the Ten Principles of Better Regulation in E-Commerce
Better regulatory environment = more competition = keener price competition + better availability and selection + better service + innovation = a win for the consumer
Regulation which fails to meet these Principles results in uncertainty and/or unnecessarily higher compliance costs for companies, which inhibits their ability to offer these benefits (eg. lower prices, selection…) to consumers

9. Ten Principles of Better E-Commerce Regulation
We advocate E-commerce Regulation which
1. Is Fair, balanced and proportionate
2. Is Harmonised across Europe
3. Is Drafted with EU-wide cross-border commerce in mind
4. Is Based on EU principle of Mutual Recognition (ie. founded on “country of origin” principles)
5. Is Certain
6. Is Non-prescriptive
7. Is Technologically neutral
8. Facilitates commerce (eg. is mindful of compliance and bureaucratic costs and burdens)
Addresses a genuine new need for regulation and is not aimed at addressing non-compliance of existing laws
Promotes a true single EU market (no barriers to trade; discrimination etc)

10. Michael Miller
European Legal Director, Amazon Europe