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President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 100% tax on imports from any country that imposes a tax on digital services from U.S. companies.
In a post on social media, Trump took aim at European countries that he said are discussing “imminent” implementation of taxes on American companies. The U.S. president has repeatedly sought to use tariffs as a way to deter such taxes, but many countries are looking for revenues as their economies increasingly operate in digital realms that are dominated by American companies.
“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 wrote.
He added that the new tax would supersede any previously negotiated trade deals. Trump said the penalty would apply to any country that moves forward with such a tax, but he singled out European nations in his post.
Trump has repeatedly pushed against foreign efforts to tax or regulate American tech giants. Last year he threatened new tariffs on any country that moved to do so. A post from last August said that digital taxes and regulation “are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology.”
The threat comes ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline for the European Union and the U.S. to start implementing a tariff deal that caps tariffs on most EU exports at 15%.
The EU in May finalized a trade deal with the U.S. that caps most tariffs on EU exports at 15%. The deal followed months of debate within the EU after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen tentatively struck the deal last year while visiting Trump’s golf course in Scotland.
Digital taxes were not part of the agreement and have remained a sticking point between the U.S. and the European bloc.
