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03 December 2019If France goes ahead with the web-tax that hits the American giants - from Google to Facebook to Amazon - from January the United States will put up to 100% duties on goods worth 2.4 billion dollars. The triggering of a new tough trade war comes from Washington, while Donald Trump is on his way to London for the NATO summit. The White House also warns other countries like Italy, Austria and Turkey. The US trade representative, Robert Lighthizer presented the results of five months of investigations whose conclusions speak of 'clear discrimination' towards American companies in the digital sector if they are hit by the tax set up in Paris and also studied in other countries as, indeed, Italy.

At the summit in which the 70th anniversary of the Atlantic Alliance should be celebrated, heavy clouds are thickening. The climate is already tense due to the question of NATO funding and US pressure for the Allies to prevent Huawei from developing 5G in Europe.

Trump repeats that the digital tax is considered discriminatory by the US against American companies and wants to negotiate and find a solution in the OECD. But times are tight, because a final decision is expected by January 14th. The new duties on champagne, bags and other luxury goods should be launched against Paris without agreement. And on those wines and cheeses already affected by duties at 25% last month. As were some products of Made in Italy in response to the WTO verdict on European aid to Airbus.

A situation that Italy lives as an injustice and that has created some tension even during the recent visit to the White House by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. The Paris web-tax imposes a 3% tax rate on the revenues of technology companies in France with a turnover of at least 750 million euros