US President Donald Trump has warned that countries imposing digital services taxes and related regulations on American technology firms could face new tariffs and export restrictions.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated that as president he would defend US technology companies against what he described as discriminatory measures. “Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm or discriminate against American Technology,” he wrote.
He further added that the United States could introduce restrictions on exports of advanced technology and semiconductors if such policies were not rolled back.
“I put all countries with digital taxes, legislation, rules, or regulations on notice that unless these actions are removed, I will impose substantial additional tariffs on that country’s exports to the USA,” Trump said.
The warning comes as digital taxation continues to be a contentious issue in global trade negotiations. Several governments have sought to implement taxes that largely apply to the revenues of multinational technology firms such as Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon. US officials have argued that these measures disproportionately target American companies while exempting some of the world’s largest non-US tech firms.
Last week, the United States and the European Union issued a joint statement pledging to work together to address what they called “unjustified trade barriers.” Both sides also agreed not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions, while the EU confirmed it would not move forward with network usage fees.
Digital taxes have increasingly become a sticking point in trade talks for the Trump administration. In June, the US suspended negotiations with Canada after disagreements over the issue.
Analysts say the potential for tariffs linked to digital services legislation could raise new challenges for global trade flows, with technology and semiconductor sectors closely watching the outcome.
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