On October 21, 2021, the Department of the Treasury announced that the United States has reached an agreement with Austria, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom on the treatment of digital services taxes (DSTs), a little more than a month before the United States was scheduled to implement additional duties of 25% on certain
France
USTR Releases Findings in Digital Services Taxes Investigations Involving India, Italy and Turkey
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued findings in its Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted by India, Italy and Turkey. In each report, the USTR found that the DSTs: (i) create “a significant new tax burden for U.S. companies, [and] taxes an unusually broad array of digital services”;…
Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19: Country-by-Country Guide 2.0
Since April 2020, we have collaborated with our foreign law firm partners to provide a chart summarizing the economic, labor and employment, health and safety, and export and import measures taken by governments around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a short break, we are back with version 2.0 of our chart…
USTR Announces 25% Import Duty on French Products in Response to France’s Digital Services Tax; Delays Implementation for 180 Days
On July 10, 2020, The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the imposition of a 25 percent import duty on French products in response to France’s Digital Services Tax (DST). This action is the result of a Section 301 investigation initiated on July 10, 2019, after the French government passed a tax on…
UPDATED Country-by-Country Guide: Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19
In collaboration with our foreign law firm partners, we continue to update our chart of COVID-19 measures taken by governments around the world. The government measures in the chart include economic, labor and employment, health and safety, and export and import measures. Below is a list of the updated countries and a summary of the…
UPDATED Country-by-Country Guide: Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19
In collaboration with our foreign law firm partners, we continue to update our chart of COVID-19 measures taken by governments around the world. The government measures in the chart include economic, labor and employment, health and safety, and export and import measures. Below is a list of the updated countries and a summary of the…
USTR Section 301 Investigation Report Finds that France’s Digital Services Tax Is Unreasonable and Discriminatory, Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Retaliatory Action
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued its Section 301 investigation report this week on France’s digital services tax (DST), finding that the tax discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies. The report notes that the French DST is inconsistent with prevailing…
USTR Holds Hearing in Section 301 Investigation of France’s Digital Services Tax
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is holding a public hearing today regarding its ongoing Section 301 Investigation of France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) (see Trump and Trade Update of July 11, 2019). The French DST law imposes a 3% tax on annual revenues generated by companies that provide certain digital services…
Commerce Adds 46 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Entities to its Entities List; Extends Temporary General License
In a Federal Register notice published on August 21, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it has added 46 non-U.S. affiliates of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) to the Entity List because they “pose a significant risk of involvement in activities contrary to the national security or foreign…
USTR Announces Section 301 Investigation into France’s Digital Services Tax
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing the initiation of an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into the French government’s planned Digital Services Tax (DST). On March 6, 2019, France released a proposal for a 3 percent levy on revenues that certain companies…