WASHINGTON- U.S. trade officials said they will announce any proposed action toward France on Monday when they release the findings from their investigation into the European ally’s tax on big internet companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.
“The United States Trade Representative is in the process of completing its investigation … of France’s Digital Services Tax,” the USTR’s office said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that it “will announce any proposed action in the investigation” on Monday.
France and the United States have been embroiled in a trade dispute over France’s planned 3% levy on digital services revenue on certain companies that U.S. officials have said threaten American tech giants such as Facebook Inc, Google and Amazon.
The two sides earlier agreed to set aside their differences as talks continued, and U.S. officials weighed their options amid meetings with representatives from U.S. technology and other companies.
It was not immediately clear what action the United States might take or what the report’s findings would show. France’s tax had earlier prompted U.S. President Donald Trump, whose company owns a Virginia winery, to publicly threaten a retaliatory tax on French wines.
Canadian plans to impose a French-style digital services tax have also raised alarms in the tech industry.
(Content and photos syndicated via Reuters)
