President Donald Trump on Friday escalated his stance on international digital taxes, threatening a 100% tariff on all goods from any country that imposes such a levy on U.S. companies.
The threat, made via social media, specifically targeted European nations reportedly discussing the "imminent" implementation of taxes on American tech firms. Trump stated the new penalty would supersede any existing trade agreements.
The warning comes just ahead of a July 4th deadline for the U.S. and European Union to begin implementing a recent trade deal that capped most tariffs on EU exports at 15%. Digital taxes were explicitly excluded from that May agreement and remain a key point of contention.
Britain, which has left the EU, already levies its own 2% digital services tax on revenue from search engines, social media platforms, and online marketplaces.
It remains unclear how the administration would enforce the global threat or if it would be targeted at specific nations first.