US threatens to retaliate against European Union companies over digital tax

Washington has threatened retaliatory measures against the European Union in response to its levies on US technology companies, naming prominent companies such as Accenture, Siemens and Spotify as potential targets for new restrictions or charges. "If the European Union and its member states persist in continuing to use discriminatory means to restrict, constrain and undermine the competitiveness of US service providers, the United States will have no choice but to use all available tools to counter these unreasonable measures," the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement on Tuesday. "If necessary, US law allows for the imposition of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other measures." At issue is regulation of digital trade, with the European Union pushing ahead with regulation and taxation of US tech giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon. Administration officials have accused the European Union of violating the terms of a trade deal with the US, in particular the European Union's pledge to "address unjustified digital trade barriers". Mr. Trump has also repeatedly criticised such measures as non-tariff trade barriers that harm US companies and threatened to impose "substantial" tariffs on countries that implement them. However, the European Union is still pressing ahead with enforcement of its digital regulations, recently levying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines on Apple, Meta and Mr. Musk's X.