Trump threatens tariffs and export curbs over foreign digital taxes on U.S. tech firms
By lauraharris // 2025-08-28
Copy
 
  • President Donald Trump vowed to impose steep tariffs and restrict exports of U.S. technology and chips on countries that maintain Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) or similar regulations targeting American tech companies.
  • Several countries, including EU members, the U.K. and India, levy DSTs on large digital firms like Amazon, Google and Facebook to capture revenue generated from local users and address concerns about tax fairness.
  • Trump accused these taxes of being discriminatory against U.S. companies while giving a "complete pass" to major Chinese tech firms, calling on countries to remove such policies or face economic consequences.
  • The threat risks reigniting trade disputes with the EU and U.K., despite recent agreements. Countries like France, Italy and Spain continue to enforce national DSTs, while the U.K. maintains a two percent tax on big tech revenue.
  • The EU's Digital Services Act, which mandates stricter content moderation and transparency from tech platforms, has also drawn U.S. criticism, setting the stage for renewed transatlantic trade friction.
President Donald Trump has vowed to impose "substantial" new tariffs and export restrictions on any country that maintains Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) or similar regulations targeting American tech companies. According to Brighteon.AI's Enoch, DSTs are levies imposed by several countries, including members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, India and others, on large multinational tech companies, particularly those based in the U.S., such as Amazon, Google and Facebook. These taxes are designed to capture a portion of the revenue generated by these companies from local users, addressing concerns about the fair distribution of tax burdens and the economic impact of these companies on host countries. However, Trump argued that these taxes disproportionately target U.S. companies and are discriminatory. In a fiery post on his Truth Social platform on Aug. 25, Trump accused dozens of U.S. trading partners of enacting digital taxes specifically to "harm or discriminate against American technology."

Trump: Show respect to American tech companies or consider the consequences

The president warned that unless these levies and regulations are removed, retaliatory tariffs and restrictions would follow. He also threatened to "institute export restrictions on highly protected technology and chips," in a move that could have far-reaching implications for global supply chains reliant on advanced U.S. semiconductor technologies. "As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies. Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm or discriminate against American Technology. They also outrageously give a complete pass to China's largest Tech Companies," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This must end, and end NOW! With this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules or Regulations on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country's Exports to the U.S.A. and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips. America and American Technology Companies, are neither the 'piggy bank' nor the 'doormat' of the World any longer. Show respect to America and our amazing Tech Companies or consider the consequences!" This development threatens to reignite trade tensions with both the U.K. and the EU, despite recent agreements with Washington. Several European countries, including France, Italy and Spain, have retained national DSTs in addition to the EU-wide legislation. In the U.K., a two percent tax on the revenues of large digital firms remains in place despite a prior agreement with the Trump administration. (Related: Canada RESCINDS DIGITAL TAX after Trump threatens retaliatory tariffs.) The European Union's Digital Services Act, which took effect earlier this year, has also drawn U.S. ire. The law requires major online platforms to ramp up content moderation and transparency efforts, rules that some American tech leaders said amount to regulatory overreach. With U.S. tech giants caught in the middle and Europe showing no signs of backing down from its regulatory agenda, the coming months could see escalating economic friction, just as both sides had begun to rebuild diplomatic and trade ties. Follow Trump.news for similar stories. Watch the July 8 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses Trump's new tariff wars.
This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Trump imposes 25% tariffs on auto imports.

Trump imposes new tariffs on agricultural imports.

Trump's tariffs will create millions of jobs.

U.S. tariffs inflict huge blow on German automakers.

Canada refuses to lift tariffs despite Trump's postponement.

Sources include: RT.com Brighteon.AI CNBC.com TruthSocial.com Brighteon.com
Copy