President Donald Trump said Friday (June 26) that he will impose a 100% tariff on goods from any country that imposes a digital services tax on American companies.
Several European countries have been considering implementing such a tax, and some are close to doing so, Trump said in a Friday post on Truth Social.
“Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump said in the post. “This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that France, Denmark and Portugal already impose taxes on large tech firms and that other European countries have been considering for years the addition of such taxes.
The issue of digital services taxes was not resolved by the deal Trump struck last year with the European Union, which capped most tariffs on European goods at 15% in exchange for concessions.
An EU spokesperson told the WSJ: “Unilateral measures targeting such legitimate policies are unjustified. If pursued, the EU will respond swiftly and decisively to defend its rights and regulatory autonomy.”
It was reported in March that Poland’s government was preparing legislation for a digital services tax and that this had strained the country’s relations with the U.S.
Reuters reported Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that France would not end its digital tax. Trump said that the U.S. could impose a 100% tariff on French wine if France did not eliminate the tax.
The report said the U.S. Trade Representative’s office has argued that digital services tax discriminate against U.S. companies, because those companies dominate the digital sector.
CNBC reported Friday that it is not clear which statute Trump would use to carry out his threat of additional tariffs, because the Supreme Court struck down his earlier “reciprocal” tariffs, and there is a 150-day limit on tariffs created under the statute he cited when imposing a new global 10% tariff.
