Research carried out by Max Kohnstamm, Marketing Professor at the International Business Studies Department of the HES School of Business in Amsterdam, has shown that the price of prime US branded goods sold through European websites has not fallen uniformly in line with the weakening dollar and that there is a substantial differential between the average price of leading US branded goods across Europe. Taking Amazon-based sales outlets and measuring a basket of 25 to 30 American products that were suitable for Christmas gifts, the research showed that those products were 80% more expensive in France, 93% more expensive in the UK and 85% more expensive in Germany. Brands used for comparison included Calvin Klein, DKNY and Fisher Price. Businesswire summarises that

"Despite these differences European consumers are not massively ordering Christmas presents in American webstores, simply because it is impossible in most cases for Europeans to order an American brand on an American website. Only books and DVD's will be delivered outside the USA. European trade mark legislation gives the owner of a brand the power to prohibit parallel imports from the USA to Europe".

"Strangely enough it is European law that enables American brands to maximize their profits in Europe. By not changing the trade mark legislation the European Commission is missing a unique opportunity to win over support from European consumers".