Brussels could target American “digital services” if tariff talks collapse, according to Ursula von der Leyen
The European Union is prepared to impose bloc-wide tariffs on major US tech companies, such as Meta and Google, if negotiations with Washington fail to resolve the escalating trade dispute, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned.
Following President Donald Trump’s decision to pause further tariff hikes for 90 days, EU exports to the US will still face a “baseline” 10% import duty instead of planned 20% under his new trade regime. Nevertheless, the European Commission announced it would temporarily suspend its countermeasures pending further negotiations.
Speaking to the Financial Times on Thursday, von der Leyen said Brussels was ready to deploy its most powerful trade measures, potentially targeting American digital service providers and the advertising revenues of Silicon Valley giants.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen said, adding that these could include the first use of the EU’s anti-coercion mechanism to hit services rather than goods. “There’s a wide range of countermeasures… in case the negotiations are not satisfactory.”
“An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services,” she added, outlining a measure that would apply across the bloc’s entire single market – on top of digital sales taxes set individually by member states.
While the EU remains committed to seeking a “completely balanced” agreement during Trump’s 90-day tariff freeze, von der Leyen made clear that Brussels would not hesitate to act if talks fail. The Commission is also considering tariffs on US scrap metal exports, as well as protective measures to prevent Chinese goods – targeted by prohibitive 145% US tariffs – from flooding European markets.
Von der Leyen described Trump’s tariff war as a “turning point” for global trade, saying there would be no return to the “status quo” between the EU and the US. She claimed that Brussels had attempted to negotiate with Washington in recent months but was told to wait until Trump’s April 2 announcement, which imposed a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on the EU.
While both sides have agreed that reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is needed, von der Leyen warned that the economic chaos unleashed by Trump’s tariffs was already inflicting heavy costs on global markets.
“There are no winners in this, only losers,” she said. “Today we see the cost of chaos… the costs of the uncertainty that we are experiencing today will be heavy.”
Von der Leyen confirmed that the EU would pause its planned retaliation against US steel and aluminum tariffs during the negotiations but stressed that Brussels would not negotiate over its “untouchable” rules on digital content, market power, and other “sovereign decisions.” The bloc also will not negotiate over value-added tax (VAT), which US officials — including Trump — somehow deem “discriminatory” against American exporters, even though both imported and locally produced goods are taxed equally.
