EU defends digital tax plans after Trump threatens 100% tariffs

US President Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on European countries that impose digital service taxes on American companies.

Taking to Truth Social on Friday, Trump claimed that numerous EU countries are considering implementing the tax.

“Any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United State of America,” Trump said, explaining that the retaliatory tariff will supersede any existing trade deals with the US, signed or not.

“Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed,” Trump concluded.

This is not the first time a country has imposed a digital services tax, nor is it the first time the Trump administration has used tariff threats to pressure countries into changing their minds. In 2025, Canada rescinded its own digital services tax after similar pressure from Washington.

Trump’s tariff threat comes just a day after EU member states moved to implement a trade deal with Washington, under which the bloc would cut tariffs on US industrial goods and certain agricultural products, while the US would cap most tariffs on EU goods at 15%.

In response, the European Commission defended the EU’s “sovereign right” to regulate economic activity, saying its digital taxes are non-discriminatory and that unilateral measures targeting legitimate policies are “unjustified.”

Taxes on digital services are often introduced to curb the dominance of Big Tech companies, particularly large US corporations such as Apple, Amazon and Meta.

“If pursued, the EU will respond swiftly and decisively to defend its rights and regulatory autonomy. The EU has consistently supported a global solution to the fair taxation of the digital economy, in line with the G7 finance ministers conclusions,” it said in a statement.