WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump has issued a fresh threat against countries implementing digital taxes on American technology companies.
Trump warned on Monday that nations maintaining such taxes would face substantial additional tariffs on their exports to the United States.
He also threatened to impose export restrictions on highly protected American technology and semiconductor chips.
The president declared this stance through a social media post addressing what he called discriminatory actions against US technology firms.
“With this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country’s Exports to the U.S.A., and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips,“ Trump said in a social media post.
Trump asserted that digital tax legislation specifically targets and harms American technology companies while benefiting rivals from China.
This warning follows previous threats against countries including Canada and France over their digital services tax policies.
Many European nations have implemented taxes targeting revenue generated by digital service providers like Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon.
The issue has created ongoing trade tensions between the United States and several trading partners.
In February, Trump directed his trade representative to revive investigations into potential tariffs against countries with digital service taxes.
Sources indicate the administration is considering sanctions against European Union officials implementing the bloc’s Digital Services Act. – Reuters