U.S. Eyes Retaliatory Tariffs on Six Countries Over Digital Services Taxes

The United States is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on six countries but will delay this for six months to pave the way for negotiations, according to the WSJ.

• The U.S. is looking to implement tariffs on the United Kingdom, Austria, India, Italy, Spain, and Turkey.
• Trade Representative Katherine Tai defended the tariffs as she said these were due to the digital services taxes imposed by the countries on American companies.
• Among the companies most hit by digital services taxes are giants Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., and Amazon.com Inc.
• Tai noted that any tariffs will be suspended as parties seek a “multilateral solution” to the issues stemming from international taxation.
• The official said the United States is planning to push negotiations through the Group of 20 economic powers, along with other international groups.

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