India has rejected a proposal for new global ecommerce rules from the World Trade Organisation, or WTO. Various members of the WTO held an informal meeting and proposed a draft set of rules that would permanently ban custom duties on global electronic transactions. However, India has said that it will not agree to the proposed rule, amid fears that it would harm India's domestic ecommerce market by giving foreign retailers unfair access. Various other developing countries have sided with India on the issue. A coalition of 50 African countries added their voice to the argument, with Rwanda accusing the richer members of the WTO of trying to “kick away the development ladder” and constraining the abilities of developing countries to industrialise.
