 "Trump threatens to levy new tariffs against nations that 'harm' American tech firms and 'give a pass to China'")
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on countries that “attack” American tech companies, saying that digital taxes are meant to harm the tech interests of the US.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies. Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology.”
As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies. Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology. They also,…
— Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) August 26, 2025
He added that such taxes and regulations “give a complete pass” to China and declared that if countries do not remove the legislation, then Washington will “impose substantial additional tariffs” on that particular nation’s exports to the country to the US.
Quick Reads
View AllMany countries, particularly in Europe, have levied taxes on the sales revenue of digital service providers, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta’s Facebook, Apple and Amazon. The issue has been a longstanding trade irritant for multiple US administrations.
Canada removes Digital Tax
Trump abruptly called off trade talks with Canada last month over Canada’s digital services tax, saying it was a “blatant attack.” He pledged to set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week, which threatened to push US-Canada relations back into chaos after a period of relative calm.
The Canadian government scrapped its digital services tax on the US hours before it was set to go into effect, following which trade talks between the two countries continued.
Ottawa introduced the digital service tax in 2020 on big US-based tech companies like Meta, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Uber and Airbnb. The levy was designed to charge American companies from the revenues they generated from Canadians.
The Digital Services Tax Act (DSTA) officially came into effect last year, with Canada imposing a 3 per cent tax on digital service revenues generated from Canadian users, even if companies have no physical presence in the country.
 "Pentagon no longer views China as top threat, offers 'more limited' support to US allies")
 "'Governor Carney sorely mistaken': Trump threatens 100% tariff on Canada over its potential China trade deal")
 "Bangladesh out of 2026 T20 World Cup, announces ICC; Scotland named replacement team")
 "Monster winter storm cancels nearly 10,000 US flights, leaves millions bracing for ice and outages")
 "Pentagon no longer views China as top threat, offers 'more limited' support to US allies")
 "'Governor Carney sorely mistaken': Trump threatens 100% tariff on Canada over its potential China trade deal")
 "Bangladesh out of 2026 T20 World Cup, announces ICC; Scotland named replacement team")
 "Monster winter storm cancels nearly 10,000 US flights, leaves millions bracing for ice and outages")
