The United States threatens to take countermeasures against EU companies over digital tax issues

Jinse Finance reported that the US government has threatened to take retaliatory measures against the European Union in response to its taxation of American technology companies, specifically naming well-known enterprises such as Accenture, Siemens, and Spotify, stating that they may become targets of new restrictions or fees. The Office of the United States Trade Representative stated on Tuesday: "If the EU and its member states insist on continuing to restrict, constrain, and undermine the competitiveness of US service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to use all available tools to counter these unreasonable measures." "If countermeasures are necessary, US law allows for the imposition of fees or restrictions on foreign services, as well as other measures." The core of the dispute lies in digital trade regulation, as the EU is advancing its regulation and taxation of US tech giants such as Google, Meta, and Amazon. US government officials have accused the EU of violating the terms of its trade agreement with the United States, particularly the EU's commitment to "address unreasonable barriers to digital trade." Trump has repeatedly criticized such measures as non-tariff trade barriers that harm the interests of US companies and has threatened to impose "substantial" tariffs on countries implementing these measures. Nevertheless, the EU continues to advance the enforcement of its digital regulations, recently issuing hundreds of millions of dollars in fines to Apple, Meta, and Musk's X.