India tells U.S. that decision to levy digital tax on Google, Amazon isn’t biased

India’s decision to levy a tax on companies offering digital services in the country is not aimed at any particular country and the decision will not be reconsidered, people with knowledge of the matter said. The decision has been conveyed to the U.S. trade department, which had initiated a probe alleging the South Asian nation was targeting companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, the people said asking not to be identified citing rules on speaking to the media.

India’s stand on the levies comes as the two nations engage in negotiations to achieve a limited trade deal with ambitions for a free trade agreement in the future. A similar dispute in France, prompted the U.S. to levy 25% tariffs on a series of French goods worth about $1.3 billion, last week. A call made to the trade ministry spokesman outside office hours was not immediately answered, while the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi referred the query to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. An email sent to a USTR spokesperson for comment remained unanswered.