India’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, fired up American e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Walmart, accusing them of arrogance and flouting local laws through predatory pricing practices.
Although he did not directly name Amazon.com or Walmart Inc’s Flipkart – India’s two dominant e-commerce players – his comments come at a time of growing uproar from small Indian retailers and retailers who accuse the U.S. giant of circumventing Indian consumer and competition laws.
The two U.S. e-commerce giants have denied the merchants’ allegations against them.
Goyal also criticized the companies for shopping in court forums and failing to comply with an investigation by India’s Competition Commission (CCI).
Flipkart and Amazon have appealed CCI’s offer to reopen an investigation into their business practices after a judge this month rejected the companies’ original pleas.
Separately, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, the Confederation of All India Traders accused e-commerce companies of treating India like a “banana republic” by circumventing its laws.
The panel called on the government to ensure that the proposed e-commerce rules favor local merchants and retailers, despite lobbying efforts by the e-commerce giants.
The U.S. India Business Council, a leading U.S. lobbying group, described India’s proposed new e-commerce rules as worrying.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.