U.S. Pursuing Tariffs on French Goods in Response to France Digital Tax Law

The United States is pursuing tariffs “of up to 100 percent on certain French products” after finding that France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) discriminates against U.S. companies. The U.S. Trade Representative reports “that the law deliberately targets U.S. companies” including “Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.” In response, the U.S. is considering “whether imposing increased duties on a particular product would be practicable or effective to obtain the elimination of France’s [tax]”. Tariffs on imports “with an approximate trade value of $2.4 billion” from France could include items such as yogurt, cheeses, champagne, beauty supplies, and hand bags.

France’s DST is “a 3 percent tax on revenues generated by” digital services and advertising companies “in France” that generate €750 million globally and €25 million in France. “Eight of the nine company groups expected to be subject to the DST… are U.S.-based.” The U.S. argues this among other things proves the tax “targets U.S. companies by covering only services where U.S. companies are dominant”.