European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU is preparing a slate of retaliatory measures that could include levies on digital advertising revenues from U.S. tech companies like Facebook-parent Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google.
What Happened: The warning comes as transatlantic trade tensions rise, with President Donald Trump imposing steep new tariffs on European goods.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen told the Financial Times, noting the EU would seek a “completely balanced” agreement with Washington during Trump’s 90-day tariff pause.
If talks fail, she warned, “There’s a wide range of countermeasures … in case the negotiations are not satisfactory.”
These retaliatory measures could include:
Taxes on American tech companies that earn big money in Europe, especially through digital advertising revenue. Von der Leyen said that this would differ from digital sales taxes implemented individually by member states.
“It’s a turning point with the United States without any question,” von der Leyen said. “We will never go back any more to the status quo.”
Pointing to the disruption in stock and bond markets, she stated, “There are no winners in this, only losers.”
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Why It Matters: Two of the U.S.’s biggest trade partners, China and the EU—which represent 8% and 13% of its overall trade, respectively—earlier indicated plans to respond with countermeasures.
However, on Thursday, the European Commission decided to pause its planned retaliatory measures against the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. The proposed EU response would have impacted approximately €21 billion worth of American imports, including items like poultry, orange juice, and yachts.
China has already imposed reciprocal tariffs of 34% on all goods imported from the U.S.
On the other hand, the U.K. government is reportedly seeking to ease tensions with Trump over trade tariffs by offering substantial tax breaks to major American tech companies.
The proposed relief would impact digital giants such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google, Facebook, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and others currently paying the UK’s DST.
Meta boasts an impressive growth score of 74.89%, according to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings. To see how it stacks up against Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and other major companies, click here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
