An e-commerce directive which is in the process of being transposed into the national statutes of the 15 EU countries says that a Web site should be able to sell its goods and services according to one set of rules -- those of the country where the Web site is based.

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"We got a directive from the Department of Commerce, which wants to become more electronic, " Leslie said.

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Allegedly, one of the motivations for amending the directive is to make consumers feel more comfortable with e-commerce.

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The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai found that of those companies who were aware of this directive, 30% thought it would hurt their business in China.

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