USTR slams India's e-commerce policy, says can throttle digital trade

Draft policy calls for regulating cross-border data flow, banning sharing of data of Indian users stored abroad with other business, and mandating all e-commerce firms to have data storage in India

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has slammed India's restrictions on cross-border data flows and data localization requirements. It has termed India’s move as a barrier to digital trade in its factsheet for National Trade Estimate (NTE), 2019.

“In 2018, India published a number of measures that would restrict the cross-border flow of data and create onerous data localization requirements. In October, one such measure was implemented, requiring payment service suppliers to store all information related to electronic payments by Indian citizens within India”, said USTR.

The agency has expressed its concern on the