Washington is withdrawing from discussions that had been held for several months at the OECD level to reach a tax on digital services that would have applied around the world. If the Europeans maintain their taxation of Gafa, the United States brandishes the threat of taxes on other products.
It's a declaration of war! The United States announced on Wednesday evening to Europeans that it was abandoning any discussion on the taxation of digital giants.
And they threaten the Europeans with sanctions. French wine producers, among others, have cause for concern. Donald Trump's Secretary of the Treasury has written to Bruno Le Maire and the three other European finance ministers concerned, the British, the Italian and the Spanish, to announce the news. Washington is withdrawing from discussions that had been held for several months at the OECD level to reach a tax on digital services that would have applied around the world. France had agreed to postpone its Gafa tax pending an agreement on an international tax.
The United States had agreed to discuss. Why do they throw in the towel?
The pretext, according to the letter from the US Secretary of the Treasury quoted by the Financial Times, is that there are currently "far more important questions" to deal with. The truth is that Washington never wanted it. The consequence, the letter points out in black and white, is that "if countries adopt such taxes, the United States will respond with appropriate and proportionate measures". Clearly, if the Europeans maintain their taxation of Gafa, we will suffer taxes on other products. Washington has already threatened France with 2.4 billion customs duties on a host of products. The transatlantic trade war is relaunched.