The United States threatens to retaliate against the European Union's digital services tax plan or launch a Section 301 investigation.

The Trump administration threatens to retaliate against the European Union for imposing taxes on American technology companies, including famous companies such as Accenture, Siemens, and Spotify Technology SA. They may become new targets for restrictions or fees. The U.S. Trade Representative's Office posted on social media on Tuesday, stating, "If the EU and its member states continue to restrict, restrain, and hinder the competitiveness of American service providers through discriminatory means, the U.S. will have no choice but to start using all available tools to counter these unreasonable measures." The post mentioned, "If retaliatory measures are necessary, U.S. law allows actions such as charging fees to foreign service providers or imposing restrictions." According to an anonymous source, the U.S. is prepared to initiate an investigation under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which will allow the government to take trade remedies, including tariffs. The Trade Representative's Office also named several other European companies, including DHL Group, SAP SE, Amadeus IT Group SA, Capgemini, Publicis Groupe, and Mistral AI, stating that they have enjoyed unrestricted access to the U.S. market for years. The core of the controversy lies in digital trade related rules, as the EU is currently pushing for regulations and planning to tax U.S. tech giants such as Google, Meta, and Amazon. Critics argue that the EU's digital tax plan is slowing down technological innovation, impacting the global economy, and unfairly increasing taxes. The so-called "digital service tax" has long frustrated U.S. policymakers. Congress has considered including a provision in Trump's signature tax cut law to impose "retaliatory taxes" on countries deemed as "discriminatory" by the U.S. The Trade Representative's Office stated on Tuesday that retaliatory measures could expand to "other countries adopting EU-like strategies," possibly warning Australia, the UK, and other countries considering similar policies.