![image: [ Clinton wants an agreement with the US's main trading partners ]](/olmedia/60000/images/_60468_CLINT300.JPG)
He has told a technology conference in San Francisco that the growth of online business could be harmed by new levies.
But while his comments will be welcomed by consumers, they are likely to put him in direct conflict with many state governors in the US who support new Internet taxes.
Mr Clinton said: "To ensure electronic commerce can also flourish across international borders, I have also asked the secretary of the treasury to work with our international trading partners to block new or discriminatory taxes on global electronic commerce."
Clinton's plan
Instead, the president proposes a bi-partisan commission of elected officials, business executives, consumer representatives and US Treasury Department officials to devise a system of taxation fair to both online and conventional business.
Shopping on the net is big business. Market researchers, IDC, predict that by 2001, Internet shopping will have increased 4,000% from 1996 and be worth £2.73bn in the United Kingdom alone.
Internet shopping in the UK has still to take off but many large chain stores do now offer goods online.
Among the most common are CD's, flowers and confectionary.
The governors' view
The National Governors' Association in the US has passed a resolution asking Congress to introduce legislation to regulate Internet sales.
The association wants states to impose single tax rates on all electronic commerce over the Internet and mail order purchases.
The resolution says legislation should prevent taxes on Internet access or monthly fees. Only the governors of California and Virginia refused to give their backing.
The motion also says that states which do not want to impose any taxes would be free to make that decision.
E-commerce - the online shopping boom
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Net shopping
US Treasury Department
President Clinton's speech to the Technology 98 conference
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E-commerce - the online shopping boom