Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on Europe over Digital Taxes

US President Donald Trump has once again threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imports from any European country that introduces a digital services tax on US companies.

On the social media platform Truth Social, he said that several European countries are discussing such a tax and, according to him, some are close to implementing it. If they adopt it, Trump said, the United States will immediately impose a 100% tariff on all imports from that country, superseding all previous trade agreements.

Such a move could further escalate trade tensions between the US and the European Union. France, Spain and Italy already impose a 3% tax on digital services for large companies, while other member states have introduced similar measures or are considering them. The United Kingdom also has a similar 2% tax, which applies to companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said the EU reserves the right to defend itself against such tariffs. He emphasized that the digital services tax is not aimed at companies from specific countries but applies to all large companies regardless of origin.

Trump's remarks came ahead of the 4 July deadline, when the EU and the US are set to begin implementing the trade agreement reached in May. However, the digital services tax was not part of that agreement and remains a contentious issue in the negotiations.

(guardian, bak)