Donald Trump has threatened a 100% tariff on all goods from any country, particularly in Europe, that imposes a digital services tax on U.S. tech giants like Meta and Amazon. The threat, made via social media, states the tariff would be immediate and supersede existing trade deals. This follows a similar successful threat against Canada and comes amid questions over Trump's legal authority to impose such tariffs unilaterally.
Trump tariff threat
- ▪On June 26, 2026, Donald Trump threatened via a Truth Social post to impose a 100% tariff on goods from any country that implements a digital services tax on U.S. companies
- ▪Trump's threat specifically singled out "Numerous European Countries" as considering the implementation of such taxes
- ▪Trump stated the proposed 100% tariff would be "immediately imposed" and would supersede any existing trade deals
Digital services taxes
- ▪Digital services taxes are typically structured to apply to large U.S. tech companies like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon
- ▪More than a dozen countries have already imposed digital services taxes
- ▪Trump has previously claimed that digital services taxes unfairly target and are designed to harm U.S. technology companies
Previous Canadian dispute
- ▪Following Trump's threat, Canada scrapped its proposed digital services tax shortly before it was scheduled to take effect
- ▪In 2025, Trump threatened to end trade talks with Canada over its proposed digital services tax
Legal authority questions
- ▪The European Union and the United States face a July 4 deadline to approve a separate trade deal that caps most tariffs on EU exports at 15%
- ▪Tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which Trump has used before, are limited to 150 days without congressional approval
- ▪The Supreme Court on February 20, 2026 struck down Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, ruling the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize them
- ▪It is unclear which law would grant Donald Trump the authority to immediately impose such large tariffs on individual countries
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