NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has ratcheted up the heat on U.S. ecommerce giants like Amazon and Walmart, accusing them of arrogance and of flouting local laws by indulging in predatory pricing practices. "I've had several engagements with these large companies, particularly the American ones, and I can see a little bit of arrogance," he said. But his comments come at a time of growing clamour from small Indian traders and retailers, who accuse the U.S. giants of circumventing Indian consumer protection laws and competition laws. "To my mind, if they have nothing to hide, if they are doing honest business practices, why don't they respond to the CCI?" Separately, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, the Confederation of All India Traders, accused ecommerce companies of treating India like a "banana republic" with weak laws.

Source: The Star June 27, 2021 15:33 UTC