The United States has suspended tariffs imposed on several European countries during the Trump administration in response to a European technology tax, which was understood to primarily affect American companies. Among the countries that have done away with these tariffs are Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Austria.
The decision opens the doors to finding an agreement to impose international taxes within the Group of Twenty. In fact, the investigation concluded that the imposition of tariffs on certain products is correct, but that 180 days were given to conclude negotiations in the G-20. Trump had already suspended implementation of the tariffs, which went into effect on January 6.
The investigation was opened in June 2020 to analyze fees for digital services launched in the European Union, Indonesia, Turkey, India or the United Kingdom.
Commerce Representative Catherine Tay knows that taxing tech companies discriminates against big US companies like Amazon, Google or Netflix. But “the United States is focused on finding a multilateral solution to a number of major international tax problems, including taxes on digital services.”
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