U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Monday that countries enforcing digital taxes could face “substantial additional tariffs” on their exports to the United States if they do not repeal such measures.
Sources have indicated that the Trump administration is weighing sanctions on European Union officials or individual member states tied to the enforcement of the bloc’s Digital Services Act.
Several nations, particularly across Europe, have introduced taxes on the sales revenues of major digital service providers, including Google (Alphabet), Meta (Facebook), Apple, and Amazon. These digital taxes have been a persistent trade dispute between the U.S. and its partners for years.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump stated: “With this TRUTH, I put all countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I will impose substantial tariffs on exports to the U.S. and restrict access to our protected technology and chips.”
He argued that such laws are designed to discriminate against U.S. technology companies while giving an advantage to firms from China, America’s key tech rival.
Trump has previously threatened tariffs on countries including France and Canada over digital tax disputes. In February, he directed his trade team to reopen investigations into foreign nations with digital service taxes targeting U.S. firms.
