Scrambling to respond to the Trump administration’s cascading list of tariffs, the European Union is weighing whether to hit one of the most lucrative U.S. exports: billions of dollars’ worth of digital services that American Big Tech companies sell to European consumers.
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The debate over digital services risks expanding the trade war from manufactured goods such as cars, steel and whiskey to services from cloud storage and satellite internet provided by U.S. tech giants like Apple, Google, Meta and Elon Musk’s Starlink network.
European officials, largely behind closed doors, have been debating for weeks the wisdom of targeting digital services with tariffs and other measures: part of a carrot-and-stick response that would also include new trade concessions to Washington. As attempts to negotiate with the Trump administration have hit a wall, several nations within the 27-member E.U. bloc are more seriously pressing to include digital services in countermeasures, according to three European officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
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Some nations, including France, are actively pushing for a tougher response that includes digital services, one of the officials said, adding that others, such as more Trump-friendly Italy, remain generally opposed, seeing such a move as only provoking the White House into further escalation.
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But it was still possible that the bloc could unite to impose “some partial measures against American services,” the official said.
A second official said that targeting digital services had previously been viewed as an overly provocative step, but the Trump administration’s continued escalation and refusal to negotiate could change that. “The goal posts have been shifted by the Americans.”
Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo addressed the question of targeting digital services Monday after meeting with the E.U. trade commissioner. “Let’s wait and see what the measures are that the U.S. puts on the table, and depending on that, we will react,” he told reporters.
The discussions underscore Europe’s frustrations with what they call Trump’s selective grievances about trade, which have largely focused on the U.S. deficit with Europe in manufactured goods. While the E.U. enjoys a trade surplus with the United States of $170 billion on goods, it shoulders a deficit of $118 billion in services, according to 2023 European trade data.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.The debate over digital services risks expanding the trade war from manufactured goods such as cars, steel and whiskey to services from cloud storage and satellite internet provided by U.S. tech giants like Apple, Google, Meta and Elon Musk’s Starlink network.
European officials, largely behind closed doors, have been debating for weeks the wisdom of targeting digital services with tariffs and other measures: part of a carrot-and-stick response that would also include new trade concessions to Washington. As attempts to negotiate with the Trump administration have hit a wall, several nations within the 27-member E.U. bloc are more seriously pressing to include digital services in countermeasures, according to three European officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
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Some nations, including France, are actively pushing for a tougher response that includes digital services, one of the officials said, adding that others, such as more Trump-friendly Italy, remain generally opposed, seeing such a move as only provoking the White House into further escalation.
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Follow World news
But it was still possible that the bloc could unite to impose “some partial measures against American services,” the official said.
A second official said that targeting digital services had previously been viewed as an overly provocative step, but the Trump administration’s continued escalation and refusal to negotiate could change that. “The goal posts have been shifted by the Americans.”
Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo addressed the question of targeting digital services Monday after meeting with the E.U. trade commissioner. “Let’s wait and see what the measures are that the U.S. puts on the table, and depending on that, we will react,” he told reporters.
The discussions underscore Europe’s frustrations with what they call Trump’s selective grievances about trade, which have largely focused on the U.S. deficit with Europe in manufactured goods. While the E.U. enjoys a trade surplus with the United States of $170 billion on goods, it shoulders a deficit of $118 billion in services, according to 2023 European trade data.
