- Trump issued a Memorandum targeting the digital sector to protect American companies from foreign policies deemed anti-competitive.
- The Memorandum supports tariffs and protective measures against Digital Service Taxes and other policies seen as discriminatory against American Big Tech.
- The US previously investigated DSTs under Section 301 of the Trade Act against several countries, considering them discriminatory.
- A political agreement under the Biden Administration paused these tensions, pending OECD Pillar 1 implementation.
- The new Memorandum directs the USTR to consider renewing investigations and possibly starting new ones against other countries like Canada.
- The Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Commerce are tasked with identifying practices that undermine American companies’ competitiveness.
- They are also to investigate EU and UK policies affecting US companies’ operations and assess foreign tax measures against American taxpayers.
Source: kluwertaxblog.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
