Trump threatens 100% tariff on European countries with digital tax
6 reported
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a digital services tax on US companies, according to a post on Truth Social on Friday. The US president stated that "numerous European countries" had been discussing such a tax and that some were close to implementing it. He warned that any country imposing the tax would immediately face a 100% tariff on all goods sent to the United States, superseding prior trade deals. The threat could escalate Trump's global trade war and potentially trigger a larger conflict between the US and the 27-country EU if the bloc retaliates. France, Spain, and Italy already impose a 3% digital services tax on large companies, while the UK has a 2% tax that raised over £800m in 2024-2025 from US tech firms like Apple, Google, and Amazon. An EU spokesperson said the bloc reserved the right to defend itself, calling unilateral measures "unjustified" and vowing a swift response. The threat comes ahead of a 4 July deadline for implementing a US-EU tariff deal, which did not address digital services taxes.
What’s reported
Trump threatened a 100% tariff on any European country imposing a digital services tax on US companies.
The threat was made in a Truth Social post on Friday.
France, Spain, and Italy impose a 3% digital services tax on large companies.
The UK has a 2% digital services tax that raised over £800m in 2024-2025.
EU spokesperson Olof Gill said the bloc would respond "swiftly and decisively" to defend its rights.
The threat comes as a 4 July deadline for a US-EU tariff deal looms; digital services taxes were not part of that agreement.
Key figures
Donald Trump, US president
Olof Gill, spokesperson for the European Commission
Sources: The Guardian
