US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US will levy a 100% import tariff on any European country that adopts a digital services tax targeting major US technology companies.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said several European countries were considering such a tax and that some were nearing implementation. He said the tariffs would take effect immediately and would override any existing bilateral trade agreements.
“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,” he wrote.
President Trump’s proposals would likely affect previous agreements, such as a deal the US and EU agreed to last year, which caps US tariffs on European goods at 15% in exchange for EU countries reducing tariffs on US. industrial goods to zero.
A lengthy EU legislative process to meet the bloc’s commitments under the deal prompted President Trump to threaten to reimpose a 25% tariff on imports from Europe, including autos. EU lawmakers then scrambled to meet the president’s deadline to implement the changes by July 4.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week, before meeting with Trump at a G7 summit, that France would not bow to pressure from him and scrap its digital tax on US tech giants. The digital services it taxes include online marketplaces and advertising.
Before the G7 summit, President Trump warned he would “have no choice” but to impose the 100% tariffs on French wine unless Paris eliminated its digital tax.
