Trump threatens 100% tariffs on countries taxing U.S. digital services

Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose a 100% tariff on imports from any country that taxes digital services sold by U.S. companies, and wrote that the penalty would take effect immediately if governments move ahead. In a Truth Social post, he also wrote that the tariff would override previously negotiated trade deals.

The warning singled out European countries that Trump said were close to implementing digital services taxes aimed at American firms. Those levies typically fall on large technology companies that earn revenue from online advertising, marketplaces and social media, including U.S. groups such as Meta, Alphabet and Amazon. The OECD counts more than a dozen countries already using some version of the tax. A 100% tariff on goods from affected countries would raise import costs for American buyers.

Canada provides the clearest precedent. Ottawa rescinded its digital services tax on June 29, 2025, to support broader trade negotiations with the United States, and the finance ministry later made the repeal retroactive to June 20, 2024. That retreat came after months of friction over the tax.

The OECD’s Pillar One process aimed in part to reallocate taxing rights in the digital economy and curb unilateral digital services taxes, but the talks have stalled, and Trump moved in January to declare the OECD global tax deal had no force or effect in the United States. The administration has already used 100% tariff threats in other sectors, including the April 2 move on patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients. European Commission officials have defended the bloc’s right to regulate economic activity on its own territory.