Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American technology giants, a move that could ignite a transatlantic trade war.
Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US president said “numerous European countries” had been discussing such a levy and “some of these countries are close to actually doing this”. He warned that the punitive tariff would be applied immediately and “supersede” any existing bilateral trade agreements.
“Trump threatens 100% tariff on any European country imposing a digital tax on US tech firms.”
The threat comes just days after the US and the EU finalised a new trade deal, and immediately raises questions over the UK’s existing digital services tax. Britain has imposed a 2% levy on major search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces since 2020 – a tax that hits Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon. It raised more than £800m in 2024-25, up from £678m the previous year, according to the Treasury.
Trump has previously signalled his anger over the UK levy. In April he said Britain faced “a big tariff” for purportedly targeting major US companies, adding: “They think they’re going to make an easy buck, that’s why they’ve all taken advantage of our country.”
The EU has warned it will retaliate if the tariffs are imposed. Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said: “Unilateral measures targeting such legitimate policies are unjustified. If pursued, the EU will respond swiftly and decisively to defend its rights and regulatory autonomy.” Michael Damianos, minister of energy, commerce and industry of Cyprus, said last week that “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, according to the Tax Foundation. Amazon earlier this year increased its fees on sellers, citing such levies.
Trump has attempted to impose large tariffs on many countries since returning to office in 2025, though the US Supreme Court struck down his earlier attempt to impose a global 10% tariff in February. Nevertheless, the US recently announced new tariffs of 10-12.5% on dozens of countries accounting for almost all its imports.
The 100% tariff threat could escalate into a broader conflict between the US and the 27-nation bloc if Trump follows through, potentially upending the recently finalised trade deal.