Britain to face ‘big tariff’ if it doesn’t drop tech tax, Trump says
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US President Donald Trump's comments come ahead of a visit by Britain’s head of state, King Charles, next week.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on Britain if Prime Minister Keir Starmer does not drop the digital service tax, The Telegraph reported on April 24, citing an interview with the president.
Mr Trump told The Telegraph he would “put a big tariff on the UK” if it did not drop its tax, which is viewed as unfairly targeting US tech companies.
The United Kingdom rolled out its 2 per cent digital services tax in 2020, a move that has been criticised by Mr Trump and his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. The digital service tax targets companies like Apple, Alphabet’s Google, and Meta.
“I don’t like it when they target American companies, because basically, you’re talking about our great American companies... and the top companies in the world,” Mr Trump said.
“We’ve been looking at it, and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK. So they better be careful. If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK,” he added.
Mr Trump said he believes the monarch could help repair the Washington’s relationship with the British, which has become strained in recent months. REUTERS
