WASHINGTON (ANP/RTR/AFP) – US President Donald Trump is threatening to impose 100 percent import tariffs on European countries if they introduce a tax on digital services from American tech companies. Trump wrote this on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Several European countries have discussed the upcoming introduction of a tax on digital services for American companies. Some of these countries are about to actually do this,” said Trump. If a country introduces such a tax, according to Trump, that country will immediately face a 100 percent import tariff on all goods exported to the United States, regardless of whether trade agreements have been concluded.
Trump has frequently expressed strong criticism of a tax on digital services from major American tech companies such as Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, Apple, and Google.
Import tariffs
In April, Trump threatened import tariffs against the United Kingdom if the government of then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not scrap a tax on digital services. According to Trump, the so-called Digital Services Tax is unfair to American tech companies. The tax amounts to 2 percent on British revenue from major search engines, online platforms, and social media.
Recently, Trump also issued a threat of a 100 percent levy on French wine and champagne if France did not scrap a 3 percent digital tax. Austria also has a digital tax, which amounts to 5 percent on the domestic advertising revenue of tech companies.
A spokesperson for the European Commission says that the EU will act quickly and forcefully against any potential levies. EU member states have the sovereign right to regulate economic activities on their territory, according to the Commission.
