Donald Trump threatens UK with 'big tariffs' over digital services tax dispute

US president Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Britain if the government led by Keir Starmer does not scrap its digital services tax (DST).Trump said in an interview with the The Telegraph that he would “put a big tariff on the UK” if the tax is not withdrawn, following disclosures from the Treasury that the measure had generated millions in revenue last year.“I don’t like it when they target American companies, because basically, you’re talking about our great American companies, whether we like those companies that don’t like them, they’re American companies and the top companies in the world,” Trump said.“We’ve been looking at it, and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK. So they better be careful. If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK," he added.The US president has criticised the levy as unfairly targeting American tech giants such as Apple, Google and Meta, as it imposes a 2% charge on revenues generated from social media platforms, search engines and online marketplaces.The remarks come ahead of the upcoming visit of the King and Queen to the United States next week.The tax also applies to UK-generated revenues of large search engines, online marketplaces and social networks, and has become an increasingly important source of income for the Exchequer amid the rapid growth of big tech firms.

Asked what level of tariffs Britain could face, Trump replied: “More than what they’re getting.”The president struck a restrained tone when speaking about Starmer, saying the prime minister could only “recover” if he changed course on immigration.“If he opened the North Sea and if his immigration policies became strong, which right now they’re not, he can recover, but if he doesn’t, I don’t think he has a chance,” Trump said, as cited by The Telegraph.US officials have long criticised the tax as unfairly singling out American tech companies, and have also raised concerns that the Online Safety Act 2023 poses risks to free speech.