The EU may tax US tech giants, and more than half of Americans are dissatisfied with the additional tariffs.

BEIJING, April 12th, Xinhua News Agency reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently stated that if no solution is reached in the negotiations with the U.S. government on tariff issues, the EU may tax large American technology companies.

Recent public opinion survey results show that more than half of Americans are dissatisfied with President Trump's imposition of tariffs, believing that it will harm the U.S. economy and have a negative impact on daily life.

"This is a conflict with no winners."

In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, President Ursula von der Leyen stated that if no solution is reached in the negotiations with the U.S. government on tariff issues, the EU is prepared to use its most powerful trade countermeasures, including possibly taxing large American technology enterprises.

On March 12th, in Strasbourg, France, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a press statement. Xinhua News Agency reporter (European Union photo).

President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that "the EU hopes to reach a mutually beneficial solution through negotiations," but if the negotiations break down, the EU is prepared to expand the current trade war with the U.S. to the service sector, potentially taxing digital advertising revenue, which will directly affect major U.S. tech giants like Google.

President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU's countermeasures may focus on the U.S.'s service trade surplus with the EU. She said that the U.S.'s published trade data mainly statistics goods imports and exports, while ignoring its service outputs worldwide.

"This is a conflict with no winners." President Ursula von der Leyen said that recent stock market and bond market turmoil are direct consequences of this situation. "The uncertainty we now face will be extremely costly."

President Ursula von der Leyen believes that regardless of the outcome of the EU-U.S. negotiations, U.S. trade policies have had a profound impact on the global trade landscape and have prompted the EU to accelerate trade negotiations with other countries. She said, "Many countries around the world hope to deepen cooperation with us and jointly promote the establishment of a more balanced trading system, where free trade competes on quality rather than tariffs."

Harm the Economy and Bring Negative Impact to Daily Life

A new poll result released by Quinnipiac University on September 9th shows that 72% and 53% of respondents respectively believe that imposing tariffs will damage the U.S. economy in the short term and long term. Poll analyst Tim Malloy said, "Most Americans recognize that tariffs have caused a heavy blow to the economy in the short term. Will time alleviate the pain... Most people think not."

When asked what their biggest concern about the economy is, 47% of respondents answered food and consumer goods prices, 20% answered housing or rent costs, 17% answered the stock market, and 6% answered their job situation.

On December 11th, 2024, customers in a supermarket in New York, USA, select fruits. Xinhua reporter Liu Yanan.

When asked whether the current economic situation has led them to change their purchasing choices, nearly one-third of respondents said they postponed plans to buy big-ticket items such as furniture or appliances.

The latest poll released by Leader Research Center on August 8th showed that an increasing number of Americans who are dissatisfied with the imposition of tariffs are growing, 55% of respondents expressed opposition to Trump's tariffs; 59% of respondents believed that the U.S. economy was getting worse, a proportion of 37% last December; 62% of respondents were worried about their personal financial situation in the next few months.

A poll result released online by Reuters and Ipsos Group on August 8th showed that over 70% of respondents believed that within the next six months, daily consumer goods, cars, mobile phones, and other commodities in the United States would rise in price due to the tariff measures announced by Trump.

According to the survey results, 77% of respondents believed that electronic products such as mobile phones would rise in price within the next six months, 73% believed that cars and daily consumer goods would rise in price, 72% believed that household appliances would rise in price, 70% believed that fresh agricultural products would rise in price, 62% believed that house repair and renovation would rise in price, and 56% believed that dairy products such as milk and cheese would rise in price.

According to Reuters reports, the proportion of respondents opposing the new U.S. tariff policy is approximately 57%.

Lawrence Summers, a Harvard economics professor and former U.S. Treasury Secretary, warned on August 8th that due to the tariff measures implemented by the Trump administration, the U.S. economy may be heading towards a recession, which could lead to about 2 million Americans losing their jobs.

U.S. Media: Trump's Trade Calculations Ignore U.S. Service Exports

An article published on the website of The Wall Street Journal on September 10th pointed out that the U.S. government imposed tariffs on imported goods under the pretext of narrowing the trade deficit, without mentioning its huge surplus in the service trade sector. The current trade conflict may impact the U.S. service trade in multiple ways. The following is an abstract of the article:

The U.S. brandishing the "tariff stick" aims to narrow the goods trade deficit, which is only part of the overall trade picture. Although there is a deficit in U.S. goods trade, the situation in the service trade sector, which covers everything from online subscriptions to financial services, is the opposite. The U.S. government did not take into account service exports when calculating tariffs, and now this sector is being dragged into the trade war.

For decades, the U.S. has formed a special trading pattern with other regions of the world, where other countries transport cars, clothing, and food to the U.S., and in return receive U.S. Treasury bonds, software, and management consulting services. Data shows that the U.S. goods trade deficit reached a record $1.2 trillion in 2024, while the service trade surplus increased to $295 billion, far exceeding $77 billion in 2000.

On May 1st, 2023, pedestrians walk past a JPMorgan Chase bank in New York, USA. Xinhua reporter Guo Ke.

The service sector is gradually becoming the dominant force in the U.S. economy. Companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and JPMorgan Chase have replaced Ford and General Motors as the pillars of the economy. Software and financial products have become major export categories for the U.S. For some service industry giants, overseas markets are now more important than the U.S. market.

Although other countries and regions cannot easily impose tariffs on U.S. services, they can tax, fine, or even issue bans on U.S. companies. To counter the U.S. tariff threat, the EU has proposed a plan to crack down on large American technology enterprises.

The U.S. government's provocation of foreign consumers also puts U.S. service exports at risk, as many foreign clients may choose to boycott U.S. banks, asset management companies, and other service providers. Anti-American sentiment triggered by U.S. tariff policies has reduced the number of foreign tourists coming to the U.S., and their hotel stays and air tickets are included in U.S. service exports. Foreign clients may resent American brands, and the slowdown in economic growth caused by tariff conflicts will also suppress service demand. (Reporters: Zhao Xiuzhi, Wei Wei, Liu Yanan)

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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