Trump slams digital taxes on US tech firms as unfair and vows tariffs on countries that impose them.

Donald Trump has threatened to apply export restrictions and tariffs on nations whose laws, taxes, and regulations target major US tech companies like Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon. The US president stated in a statement on his social media account, Truth Social: Digital taxes, laws, and regulations are all intended to hurt or discriminate against American technology.

He claimed that similar policies, such as the UK's digital services tax, which levies a 2% revenue tax on multinational tech firms and generates around £800 million a year, likewise ludicrously allow China's biggest internet firms a free ride. As president of the US, Trump stated that he would confront nations that target their great American technology businesses. He will create export limits on their highly protected technology and chips, as well as impose significant additional tariffs on that nation's exports to the USA, unless these unfair practices are stopped.

The warning is increasing pressure on the UK and EU, despite their recent trade agreements with the US. Through the Digital Services Act, the EU has put rules in place to curb the influence of large internet companies, and several member states, notably France, Italy, and Spain, have implemented levies on digital services. The UK's digital services tax (DST), which was implemented in 2020 and maintained following the May trade agreement with the Trump administration, has drawn criticism from US authorities.