US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all goods imported from any country that introduces a digital services tax targeting American companies, escalating trade tensions with Europe despite an existing US- European Union (EU) trade agreement.
In a social media post on June 25, Reuters reported that Trump said any country implementing such a tax would face immediate tariffs that would override any current or future trade deals with the US.
The warning comes a day after EU member states raced to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline to lower tariffs on US goods under last year’s trade pact.
The latest threat is expected to intensify pressure on European governments, particularly France, which has maintained a 3% digital services tax since 2019 on large technology companies and is considering raising it to 6%. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously said France would not bow to US pressure to scrap the levy.
The US has long argued that digital services taxes unfairly target American technology giants, with the Office of the US Trade Representative previously warning France, Britain, Austria, Spain and other countries of potential retaliatory tariffs over such measures.
