Donald Trump has vowed to impose a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American technology giants, escalating a trade conflict that could hit the UK’s already established levy. Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said “Numerous European countries” had been discussing such a levy and some were close to doing so. “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, warning the penalties would “supersede” 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 a 2% Digital Services Tax (DST) in place since 2020. The tax applies to major search engines, social media platforms, and online marketplaces with global revenues exceeding £500 million and UK revenues over £25 million, hitting US giants Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon. It raised more than £800 million in 2024–25, up from £678 million the previous year, according to the Treasury.
“Trump threatens 100% tariff on European nations over digital services tax; UK's existing levy raises £800m”
Trump has previously singled out the UK, saying in April that it faced “a big tariff” for purportedly targeting major US companies. “They think they’re going to make an easy buck, that’s why they’ve all taken advantage of our country,” he said at the time. The threat comes days after the US and EU finalised a new trade deal, raising the stakes for European capitals. Michael Damianos, minister of energy, commerce and industry of Cyprus, said “the EU can respond swiftly and proportionately when the deal is not respected or its interests are at stake.”
France, Italy, and Spain already impose a 3% digital services tax on large companies, and several other EU nations have implemented or proposed similar taxes. Amazon earlier this year upped its fees on sellers citing such levies. Trump has attempted to impose large tariffs on many countries since returning to the presidency in 2025, though the US Supreme Court in February struck down his earlier attempt to impose a global tariff of 10%. Nevertheless, the US recently announced new tariffs of 10–12.5% on dozens of countries accounting for almost all its imports. The Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury have been contacted for comment.