Former President Donald Trump has stated that he would impose a 100% import tariff on any European country that implements a digital services tax on American technology companies. Trump made the declaration on his social media platform, Truth Social, asserting that such punitive measures would be applied immediately and would supersede existing bilateral trade agreements.
He indicated that "numerous European countries" have been discussing or are close to implementing such levies. The warning specifically targets nations planning the "imminent implementation" of new taxes, though the exact impact on countries like the United Kingdom, which has had a digital services tax in place since April 2020, was not immediately clarified. The UK's 2% Digital Services Tax applies to major tech multinationals, including Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon, specifically targeting firms with global digital revenues exceeding £500 million and UK revenues over £25 million. This tax generated more than £800 million in 2024-25.
This tariff threat follows recent announcements from Trump's administration regarding new import taxes. Earlier this month, the U.S. imposed tariffs of 10-12.5% on dozens of countries over concerns about their efforts to combat forced labor. .
Trump's statement suggests 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."
The U.S. Supreme Court had previously struck down many of his earlier duties in February, leading to these subsequent tariff announcements. 