Trump threatens Britain with '100% tariffs' if it taxes US tech firms

[Celerity]

The president warned the move would supersede any trade deals. The digital services tax raised nearly £1 billion for the UK Treasury last year

https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/trump-tariff-digital-services-tax-uk-8bbbxqps7

https://archive.ph/8feBD



President Trump has threatened a 100 per cent tariff on countries including Britain who pursue a tax on big American tech companies. Britain has a 2 per cent levy on revenues of search engines, social media and online marketplaces, a key source of revenue for the Treasury. Trump said his tariff would supersede any trade deals with the US “whether implemented, signed, or not”. The US and UK signed a trade deal in May last year, where the levy was unaffected. Both sides agreed to start on a separate digital trade agreement, but these negotiations have largely avoided the issue of the digital services tax (DST).

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies. Some of these Countries are close to actually doing this. Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100 per cent TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America. “This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100 per cent TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed.”

Several European countries already have a tax in place, with some rates higher than in the UK. Some EU officials have discussed a bloc-wide tariff, however. If Trump follows through on his pledge it will pose a serious policy challenge for Andy Burnham, who is expected to become prime minister within weeks. The tax raised almost £1 billion for the Treasury last year, and is overwhelmingly supported by the British public.

Trump has warned several times that he could punish countries with the tax. “We don’t like it when they target our American companies”, he said in April. “They think they’re going to make an easy buck. That’s why they’ve all taken advantage of our country. “We can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK, so they’d better be careful. If they don’t drop the tax then we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK … more than what they’re getting.”

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