Key facts
- President Donald Trump threatened a 100% import tariff on European countries imposing digital services taxes on U.S. companies.
- Trump stated the tariffs would immediately supersede any existing bilateral trade agreements.
- Several European nations, including France, Italy, and Spain, currently have digital services taxes.
- The UK has a 2% digital services tax that impacts major U.S. tech firms like Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon.
- The threat follows closely after the finalization of a new trade deal between the U.S. and the EU.
- The EU has indicated it will respond swiftly and proportionately if its interests are threatened.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax targeting American technology giants. Trump announced his intention on his Truth Social platform, stating that "numerous European countries" were discussing or close to implementing such levies.
He warned that these punitive measures would be applied immediately and would supersede any existing bilateral trade agreements. This threat comes just days after the U.S. and the EU finalized a new trade deal. Several EU nations, including France, Italy, and Spain, already have digital services taxes of 3% on large companies. The UK has a 2% digital services tax, in place since 2020, which affects major U.S. companies like Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon and raised over £800 million in 2024-25.
In April, Trump had previously indicated that the UK could face significant tariffs for its digital services tax. Michael Damianos, minister of energy, commerce and industry of the Republic of Cyprus, stated that the EU could respond swiftly and proportionately if its interests were at stake or if deals were not respected. The U.S. Supreme Court previously struck down Trump's attempt to impose a global tariff of 10% in February.