U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum to impose tariffs on countries that levy digital service taxes on U.S. technology companies, a White House official said.
Another official, providing details of the order, said Trump was directing his administration to consider responsive actions like tariffs “to combat the digital service taxes (DSTs), fines, practices, and policies that foreign governments levy on American companies.”
“President Trump will not allow foreign governments to appropriate America’s tax base for their own benefit,” the official said.
The memo directs the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to renew digital service taxes investigations that were initiated during Trump’s first term, and investigate any additional countries that use a digital tax “to discriminate against U.S. companies,” the official said.
Trump said last week that he would impose tariffs on Canada and France over their digital service taxes, and a White House fact sheet released at the time said that “only America should be allowed …