Amazon has asked all sellers on its marketplace to update the product listings with the country of origin before August 10. The move is to comply with the directions issued by the Government of India after the recent standoff between India and China. The US-based e-commerce giant has sent emails to all sellers to comply with the new rules or face action. According to sources, the country of origin has been mandated for all listings as part of the PM Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative for a self-reliant nation.
Amazon revealed that failure to provide the relevant country of origin information by August 10 will result in suspension of the listing. Moreover, it’s the responsibility of the sellers to make sure that the information is accurate and regularly updated.
The sellers will be solely responsible for the data. For example, if you purchase Amazon Echo Dot, the product page will mention country of origin, which is of course China. Amazon has said that it will comply with the directions issued by the Government of India.
The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come down heavily against Chinese goods after the ugly clash in Galwan in June 2020. Furthermore, the Government has banned 59 lifestyle apps citing national security concerns. TikTok has been heavily affected and they have suffered an immense loss after the ban. There are reports that ByteDance, which owns TikTok has been considering shifting headquarters from China to other countries including India.
In addition to Amazon, home-grown Walmart-owned Flipkart is also working to update their systems with the country of origin module. The intention of this move is to enable customers to know the country of origin of a particular product before they initiate the purchase process.
To recall, trader’s associations in India had called for boycott of Chinese brands and products in New Delhi. The Government also kept on hold the clearance of Chinese goods to various ports and airports after the violent border clash between India and China.
