Trump targets Canada’s digital services tax with America First trade policy [Video]

One of U.S. President Donald Trump’s freshly signed executive orders puts the Liberal government’s digital services tax into the sights of America’s Commerce, Treasury and Trade departments, threatening to further irritate the trade relationship between the two countries.

The America First Trade Policy, signed into force by Trump Monday evening, seeks to ensure America’s trading relationships bring maximum benefit to “American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs and businesses.”

It directs his secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce departments as well as the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate whether foreign countries are subjecting U.S. “citizens or corporations to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes.”

Last June, the Liberal government enacted the digital services tax (DST) promising that it would bring in billions in revenues by hitting foreign-based digital giants, with income of at least $1.1 billion, with a three per cent tax on revenues in Canada that are over $20 million.

The tax is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022. 

Business groups on both …