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United States·United Kingdom·Trade & Economy·Sanctions

Trump threatens UK with tariffs over digital services tax on US tech firms

Friday, 24 April 2026, 06:42 · 1 min read

US President Donald Trump has warned that the United Kingdom could face significant new tariffs if it does not scrap its digital services tax, a 2% levy introduced in 2020 on revenues generated by major American technology companies from UK users. Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said: "If they don't drop the tax, we'll probably put a big tariff on the UK," adding that any tariff would be "equal or greater" than what the levy raises. The threat escalates existing tensions in the US-UK trade relationship, which had already shown strain after the digital services tax was left untouched in a bilateral trade deal agreed in May 2025, and comes amid broader US warnings to multiple countries — including France, Italy, and Spain — that similar digital tax measures targeting American tech firms would not be tolerated.

Sources
The GuardianTrump says he will ‘probably put a big tariff on the UK’ if it doesn’t drop digital services tax ↗︎
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