Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on Nations Imposing Digital Services Taxes
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% import tariffs on any European country that dares to levy taxes on digital services from American companies. This extreme tariff policy will be applied immediately to override all existing trade agreements with offending nations.
According to a report by The Guardian on Monday (29/6/2026), the harsh threat was delivered by Trump via his Truth Social account over the weekend. Trump expressed his frustration after detecting that several European countries are intensively discussing plans for new tax rules, with some reportedly very close to implementing such policies against major US corporations.
“Please let this statement serve to declare that any country which imposes such a tax will immediately face a 100% TARIFF on every and all Goods shipped to the United States,” Trump wrote.
This unilateral move by Washington is seen as having strong potential to trigger a new chapter in the global trade war saga, risking dragging the US and the European Union into a much larger economic conflict if the 27-nation bloc chooses to retaliate.
Currently, major countries such as France, Spain, and Italy have already implemented a 3% digital services tax, while the UK levies a 2% tax on social media platforms, large search engines, and online marketplaces that generate global revenues exceeding 500 million pounds sterling. The UK’s tax rules specifically target US tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon, successfully contributing over 800 million pounds sterling to the UK Treasury during the 2024-2025 period. The European Union maintains that these tax regulations apply fairly to all large corporations regardless of their country of origin, making the threat of retaliatory tariffs unjustified.
“Unilateral actions targeting legitimate policies cannot be justified. If pursued, the EU will respond swiftly and firmly to defend its rights and regulatory autonomy,” stressed Olof Gill, spokesperson for the European Commission.
Prior to this latest outburst, Trump had repeatedly condemned foreign nations for attempting to regulate or extort American technology companies for easy profit. In April, Trump specifically warned the UK that it would face significant tariff barriers if it continued targeting US tech firms. This threat emerges just as the July 4 deadline approaches for the US and EU to begin implementing a new draft trade agreement. In May, the EU signed a trade deal with the US that caps most EU import tariffs at 15%, but digital services taxes were excluded from the agreement, remaining a persistent stumbling block in bilateral trade negotiations.