USA readies tariffs against six countries over digital taxes

The United States threatens Austria and five other countries that have imposed special taxes on the profits of technology giants such as Facebook and Google with retaliatory tariffs. The Austrian news agency APA informed about it on Saturday. Despite Democratic President Joe Biden's renewed promises to seek a global deal on digital services taxes through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) declared the decision. The so-called digital tax in Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom discriminates against American businesses and also violates international trade rules, said Katherine Tai, the federal government's trade commissioner. She added that Washington was interested in reaching an "international consensus" within the meaning of the rules of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, during the transitional period, the US does not rule out retaliation, including the imposition of special duties.