Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on Europe Over Digital Services Tax on U.S. Tech Companies

TLDR

• President Trump threatened 100% tariffs on any country that imposes a Digital Services Tax on U.S. companies.
• The threat targets European nations considering taxes on firms like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon.
• Trump said the tariff would override existing trade deals, whether signed or not.
• The Supreme Court previously struck down Trump’s global “reciprocal” tariffs, raising legal questions.
• France has charged a 3% digital services levy since 2019 and said it will not back down.

President Donald Trump posted a direct warning on Truth Social Friday, saying any country that taxes U.S. tech companies with a Digital Services Tax will face a 100% tariff on all goods sent to America.

The post named “numerous European Countries” as those considering such moves. Trump said the tariff would kick in immediately if countries go ahead with their plans.

“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 also said the tariff would override any existing trade deals with the U.S., whether already signed or still in progress.

The timing is sharp. The warning came just one day after EU countries approved a trade deal with the U.S. that caps taxes on European imports at 15%.

Digital services taxes are designed to apply only to the world’s largest tech companies. Firms like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon are the main targets because they generate large revenues in countries where they pay little local tax.

More than a dozen countries have some version of this tax in place.

France Says It Won’t Budge

France has had its digital services tax since 2019. It charges a 3% levy on revenue from digital services for companies with more than €25 million in French revenue and €750 million in global revenue.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last week at the G7 summit that France would not remove the tax under U.S. pressure.

Before the summit, Trump had already warned he would impose 100% tariffs on French wine if Paris didn’t drop the levy.

Trump has used this threat before. Last year, he warned Canada over its own planned digital tax. Canada scrapped the levy before it came into force.

Legal Hurdles Could Slow the Plan

It is unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose these tariffs.

The Supreme Court struck down his earlier “reciprocal” tariffs, ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not give the administration power to impose sweeping global tariffs on its own.

Hours after that ruling, Trump signed an executive order creating a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. However, tariffs made under that law can only last 150 days. Any extension would need approval from Congress.

Whether this latest threat holds legal footing remains an open question, but the political message is clear: Washington is watching closely as Europe weighs its next move on digital taxation.

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