New Delhi: Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal has fueled the heat against US e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart, accusing them of arrogance and disregard for local laws through predatory pricing practices. Goyal said companies are using their size and access to large pools of low-cost capital to indulge in predatory pricing practices “to the detriment of mom and pop stores.” “A number of these big e-commerce companies have come to India and have blatantly disregarded the country’s laws in more ways than one,” he said late Saturday at a virtual event.
“I’ve had several engagements with these big companies, especially America, and I can see a little arrogance,” he said.
Goyal did not name Amazon.com or Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart – the two dominant e-commerce players in India – or specify which laws were disregarded. But his comments come at a time when the reputation of small Indian traders and retailers is growing for accusing US giants of circumventing Indian consumer protection and competition laws.
Amazon and Flipkart did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Goyal’s scathing criticism.
The two companies have denied the dealers’ allegations.
Goyal also criticized companies for indulging in “forum shopping” in court and failing to comply with an investigation by the Indian Competition Commission (CCI).
Flipkart and Amazon have appealed the CCI’s offer to reopen an investigation into their business practices after a judge dismissed the companies’ original lawsuits earlier this month.
“In my opinion, if they have nothing to hide in honest business practices, why don’t they respond to the CCI?” said Goyal at the virtual event organized by the Stanford India Policy and Economics Club.
His comments came days after India unveiled a new set of e-commerce regulations that could undermine both Amazon and Flipkart’s ambitions in India and force the duo to review certain business structures.
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” with weak laws.
The panel called on the government to ensure that the proposed e-commerce rules are not watered down, despite lobbying by the e-commerce giants. Also read: Mobile World Congress 2021 starts tomorrow: What we know so far
The US-India Business Council, a leading US lobby group, described India’s proposed new e-commerce rules as worrying in an internal memo this week. Also Read: Income Tax Return Deadline Extension: Important Things You Need To Know Before Filing ITR
