Trump Slams Digital Tax on Tech Giants, Suspends Trade Talks with Canada
Trump announces prompt termination of trade negotiations with Canada
In a fiery statement on his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump announced that he's axing negotiations with Canada due to a digital tax impacting US tech titans, promising to reveal the new tariff rate within a week.
Trump declared, "Bye-bye to trade talks with Canada! Based on this egregious Tax, we're axing ALL discussions on Trade, effective immediately."
The Canadian digital tax in dispute is not novel - it was established last year but presents US service providers with a potentially crushing multi-billion dollar bill by June 30, according to the Computer & Communications Industry Association.
The US has long criticized this tax, viewing it as discriminatory against American firms because it专门针对外国大科技公司提出了3%的税收，其中许多是美国的巨头网络公司，如Amazon、Google、Meta、Uber和Airbnb。
In response, the US administration and Congress have demanded the tax's immediate repeal, deeming it unfair and unjustified. Trump has accused Canada of being a tough country to trade with, due to historically high tariffs on American agricultural exports, and has threatened to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian goods shortly. Trump also criticized Canada for adopting the European Union’s example, which has implemented similar digital taxes that are under negotiation with the US.
Industry groups like the CCIA have urged the United States Trade Representative to launch a Section 301 investigation into the Canadian tax as the first step towards settling the dispute. Despite pressure from US lawmakers, Canada has persisted in implementing the levy. This impasse highlights ongoing global tensions over digital taxation, as the US vocalizes strong opposition to measures perceived as discriminatory against its companies and demands repeal or faces further trade reprisals.
(Enrichment Data: The digital tax in question targets multinational digital companies, including US tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber, and Airbnb. Canadian digital services tax, enacted in 2022, imposes a 3% levy on revenues earned from Canadian users by large digital companies. The tax is retroactive for three years, with initial payments due totaling nearly $3 billion by June 30, 2025. The US views this tax as discriminatory against American firms since it targets foreign tech companies but exempts domestic competitors. The World Trade Organization and several US businesses have criticized the tax, calling for its immediate repeal. The US administration and Congress have called the tax unjustified. Industry groups like the CCIA and Canadian business groups like the Business Council of Canada have urged Ottawa to suspend the DST to avoid escalating trade retaliation. In response, Trump has halted trade talks with Canada and threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on Canadian goods within a week.)
- The US administration and Congress have demanded the immediate repeal of Canada's digital tax on tech giants, viewing it as discriminatory and unfair.
- In a statement, President Trump announced he's halting trade talks with Canada because of this digital tax, which heavily impacts US tech titans like Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber, and Airbnb.
- The US views this Canadian digital services tax as discriminatory, as it targets foreign tech companies but exempts domestic competitors, leading to a potential multi-billion dollar bill for US service providers.
- The impasse over the digital tax highlights ongoing global tensions and strong opposition from the US towards measures perceived as discriminatory against its companies, with potential trade reprisals as a possible outcome.
