By Sam TabahritiLONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Apple said on Wednesday that proposed UK rules governing its App Store would amount to price regulation, arguing that plans to loosen ‌its control over in-app payments could undermine innovation and investment. Its proposed measures would allow app developers to direct users to payment options outside Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store and require any fees charged for such ‌steering to be fair and ⁠reasonable. The watchdog said it would expect steering fees to be lower than current app store charges, with savings passed on to UK customers or ​reinvested ​into developers' businesses to support innovation. Apple said the App Store facilitated more than £46.5 billion ($61.8 billion) in UK billings and sales in 2025, with commissions accounting for less than 3.5% of the total. Gene ​Burrus, global policy counsel for the Coalition for App Fairness, ​which has long campaigned for restrictions on ​Apple and Google app store practices, said Apple's arguments overlooked the barriers ‌developers face.