On Monday night, August 25, President Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric on trade, warning that he would implement “significant” new tariffs and limit semiconductor exports to nations that continue to impose digital taxes on U.S. technology companies.
Posting late on Truth Social, Trump cautioned that any country with such taxes must eliminate what he described as discriminatory measures or face economic consequences. His threat is aimed at numerous nations—especially in Europe—where countries like the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain have adopted levies on major tech firms such as Meta, Google, and Amazon.
“I am putting all countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations on notice: unless these biased measures are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose large additional tariffs on that country’s exports to the U.S.,” Trump wrote Monday night.
He further warned that he might “impose export restrictions on our highly protected technology and chips,” hinting that he is ready to leverage America’s strength in semiconductor expertise in this dispute.
The announcement comes just days after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met privately with Trump at the White House to discuss the impact of digital services taxes on the company’s overseas operations. Sources familiar with the meeting say Zuckerberg voiced his concerns over these levies.
Digital services taxes generally apply to revenue generated from users in a particular country, even if the company has little or no physical presence there. For instance, the UK tax charges 2% on companies earning over £500 million globally and more than £25 million in UK revenue—targets that largely affect massive U.S. tech companies.
Trump has long argued that such taxes unfairly single out American corporations while sparing Chinese tech giants. In his Truth Social message, he claimed these laws “shamelessly give a total pass to China’s largest tech companies.”
This latest warning marks a sharp escalation in Trump’s trade confrontations and risks further friction with long-standing allies. The European Union has already dismissed his demands, with European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier saying that altering regulations like the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act was “not on the table” in recent trade talks.
The move follows a pattern from Trump’s earlier term. In June, he successfully pressured Canada into abandoning its planned digital services tax after threatening to pause trade negotiations. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had “caved” to Trump’s demands.
The threat to restrict semiconductor exports is particularly serious given the United States’ leadership in advanced chip production and design. Such measures could severely disrupt countries dependent on U.S. technology in areas like AI, 5G, and other key industries.
Trump’s hardline approach to digital taxes reflects his broader “America First” strategy, aimed at shielding U.S. tech firms from what he sees as unjust foreign taxation. He has consistently framed these taxes as direct attacks on American innovation and economic strength.
His announcement comes as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development continues slow-moving talks to establish a unified global tax system to replace the patchwork of digital levies. Trump’s threats signal his unwillingness to wait for a cooperative, international solution.
European leaders, meanwhile, have emphasized that regulating tech giants is a vital part of their push for “digital sovereignty” and are unlikely to retreat under U.S. pressure. This sets the stage for a likely showdown between Trump’s trade agenda and Europe’s regulatory priorities, with billions in cross-Atlantic trade hanging in the balance.
As Trump positions himself to take action, the global technology sector once again faces being pulled into a major international trade conflict, caught between U.S. protectionist policies and foreign governments’ determination to tax their operations.
