Trump threatens 100% tariff on European digital services taxes

US president Donald Trump has vowed to impose a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American technology giants.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said “Numerous European countries” had been discussing bringing in such a levy and some were close to doing so.

He warned that the punitive penalties would be applied immediately and would completely “supersede” any existing bilateral trade agreements.

While the post targets nations planning the “imminent implementation” of new levies, the precise implications for the UK were not immediately clear, given London has had such a tax in place for some time.

“Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” he wrote.

Britain’s 2% Digital Services Tax (DST) on major search engines, social media platforms, and online marketplaces was introduced in April 2020.

The tax applies to tech multinationals like Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon, specifically targeting firms with global digital revenues exceeding £500 million and UK revenues over £25 million.

It raised more than £800 million in 2024–25, up from £678 million in 2023–24, according to the Treasury.

The Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury have been contacted for comment.

Friday’s tariff warning is the latest in several announcements from President Trump’s administration of new import taxes since the US Supreme Court struck down many of his previous duties in February.

Earlier this month the US announced new tariffs of 10-12.5% on dozens of countries accounting for almost all its imports over concerns they are not doing enough to tackle forced labour.