UA was talking about this when I was there years ago. Only some consols are going to have to eat the merch fee. Basically the smaller ones. Most of the time UA will be still eating the merch fee, however you have to find the consols that have that version of the contract.
There are basically two types of contracts. First is a Net agreement. It is a fixed fare. So for example UA is selling a W fare for $1300 their Net to agents could be $900 which is the lowest it can be sold for. Nets also have better fare rules for example on Z fares, you can change your ticket after departure with no penalty. The % contacts are commission on published. So when you go to UA.com and you see SFO-HKG for example $2100. Depending on the booking class the agent could get up to 10% commission on the frontend or backend.
The second part of the paragraph is saying if the Consol. Doesnt have their own merch acct. Then UA will process it with a $75 charge to the consol per ticket against the contract.
Also,
The Z class I just purchased the other day from a ticket broker, UA still ate the merch fee.
Let me know if any one has further questions.