United States President Donald Trump has vowed to hit countries with a 100 per cent tariff should they impose a digital services tax (DST) on American companies.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump wrote that “numerous” European countries are discussing the implementation of such tax regimes, with some nearing the finish line.
“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,” he said in post on Truth Social, adding that this tariff will override any trade deals “whether implemented, signed, or not.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs and other restrictions against countries looking to impose a digital services tax, arguing that such rules unfairly target American tech giants. Last June, the U.S. president cut off trade talks with Ottawa citing Canada’s DST — first announced in 2020 and enacted in 2024 — and other trade irritants. Ottawa then rescinded Canada’s DST in hopes of luring Washington back to the negotiating table.
Around half of all European countries have implemented, announced or proposed DST regimes, with such rules already in effect in France, Poland and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Germany, Norway and Belgium have proposed introducing DSTs.
European Union nations signed off on the U.S.-EU trade deal hashed out by Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen last July, which sets a 15 per cent tariff rate on the bulk of EU exports into the U.S. and zero tariffs for American industrial goods flowing into EU countries. The agreement did not address DSTs.
Peter Harrell, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Institute of International Economic Law, wrote on the social media site X on Friday that that “Trump cannot lawfully ‘immediately’ impose a 100 per cent tariff over Europe’s DSTs, though he could update his 2019 DST 301s to impose tariffs at some level” in the upcoming months.
Trump’s latest statement, Harrell said, points to the risk of instability in any U.S.-EU trade deal and highlights the policy gap between Washington and Brussels.
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