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Donald Trump is considering tariffs in countries that raise digital services against American companies and tighten the rules for Chinese investments in the USA if he expands the scope of its global trade war.
The President signed a memo on Friday in which he ordered the ordered US trade Representatives to examine the reopening of investigations that were started during his first term in digital service taxes, which are imposed by a large number of EU countries, Great Britain and Turkey. It also evaluates potential new probes to other countries, including Canada.
“My administration will not enable American companies and employees as well as the American economic and national security interests to compromise by one-sided, contrary politics and practices of foreign governments,” wrote the president in the memo.
Since repetition of the office Trump card tried to redesign the country’s trade relationships with the world and to threaten and lead a number of tariffs against different countries and sectors.
He had already signaled that digital services would be targeted because he ignited the country’s large tech groups that work abroad and revise the global tax regime.
According to the memo, Washington will examine the taxes imposed by foreign governments in US companies and also examine all regulations or guidelines that “inhibit growth” or “endanger the intellectual property of American companies abroad”.
The memo mentions digital service taxes in France and Great Britain, whose leaders should visit Washington for discussions with the president in the coming days.
“What you do to us in other countries is terrible with digitally,” said Trump on Friday before signing.
The president also signed a memorandum that aimed to increase foreign investments in the country and at the same time protect national security against China and other opponents. The administration would create a “fast” process to enable investments by US allies and partners.
The memo added that the committee for foreign investments in the United States (CFIUS), the inward -bound transactions according to security risks controls raw materials and others ”.
Former President Joe Biden ordered Cfius to pursue a harder approach to China in a number of similar sectors, including technology.
The White House said it would protect arable land and real estate near sensitive military institutions and strengthen CFIUS’s authority via “Greenfield” calculations in which companies build or expand new institutions and operations in a foreign country.
The administration would consider new or expanded restrictions for American outbound investments in China in sensitive technologies, including chips, artificial intelligence, quantum and biotechnology, to prevent companies that share technology with the popular exemption army.
“We will also prevent new rules to prevent US companies from starting investments in China, and to prevent China from buying America, and all of these investments that are clearly used by American interests,” said Trump in a statement.
Additional reporting from Steff Chávez in Washington
