Trump Targets Digital Tax Dispute with Canada and France

President Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on Canada and France in response to their digital services taxes on U.S. tech giants like Google and Amazon. The White House aims to counter these taxes, which generate significant revenue for Canada and France, with reciprocal tariffs to restore trade fairness.

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday his intention to impose tariffs on Canada and France. The move comes as a reaction to these countries' digital services taxes on major U.S. technology firms, a matter that has been a point of contention for some time.

The President has instructed his economic team to formulate a plan for reciprocal tariffs, targeting countries that have levied duties on U.S. imports. A statement from the White House confirmed this strategy, emphasizing the U.S.'s position that it should be the sole entity to tax its domestic firms.

Canada, which started taxing digital giants like Google's parent company Alphabet and Amazon in June last year, was highlighted along with France as collecting more than $500 million per year from American companies. This approach, described in a White House fact sheet as costly and non-reciprocal, amounts to over $2 billion annually in costs to American businesses.