Trump threatens new tariffs over digital tax
US President Trump is once again upping the economic pressure on the EU, threatening countries that tax US digital companies with retaliatory measures in the form of "significant additional tariffs" and restrictions on the export of cutting-edge technology and semiconductors if the 'discriminatory measures' are not stopped. Is Europe facing another clash with the US after the hard-won agreement on tariffs?
Europe must not tolerate this
La Stampa and other papers publish an appeal by former EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton urging Europe to resist:
“These sanctions come with new trade barriers and unprecedented export restrictions. How long are we, citizens of the EU, going to tolerate these threats? Submit to those who want to impose their rules, their laws, their deadlines on us? Surrender to those who now presume to dictate our fundamental democratic and moral principles, our rules for how we live together and even how we protect our own children online? ... The time has come to rise up. Europeans must stand together and proclaim loud and clear: 'Enough is enough, es reicht, ça suffit, adesso basta, dość tego, ya basta.'”
Time to stand on our own digital feet
Europe must digitally decouple itself from the US, Politiken urges:
“This time round, the EU must not bow to Trump's pressure. The importance of the digital world is growing, and regulating it is a crucial component of our sovereignty. We must insist on this. But regulation alone is not enough. The US's attempts to pressure Europe are also a reminder of how important it is that we build our own digital infrastructure as quickly as possible. Here, too we must step out of the long shadow of the US.”
Moment of truth
Europe is in trouble, writes columnist Pierre Haski in France Inter:
“The digital sector is not isolated. The US continues to guarantee Europe's security in principle through Nato, and a delicate part of this is at stake in the war in Ukraine. ... Opposing Trump means taking the risk of sliding into a trade war that would have inevitable consequences for politics and security. Giving in simply means accepting vassalisation and thus losing any ability to make decisions. The alliance between Donald Trump and Silicon Valley foreshadowed this moment of truth: the new contours of US hegemony are now clearly emerging. Europe has its back to the wall.”