France to seek immediate EU riposte if U.S. punishes French digital tax

[December 01, 2020]    PARIS (Reuters) - France will immediately seek EU retaliation if Washington goes ahead in January with planned trade sanctions over a French tax on digital services, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.

Flags of France and European Union flutter above the French Consulate in central Istanbul, Turkey, July 13, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

The Trump administration announced additional duties of 25% on French cosmetics, handbags and other imports valued at $1.3 billion in response to France's digital services tax, but said it would hold off on implementing the move until January.

"If there are American sanctions against the French decision, which ... is the application of French law, we will immediately seek a riposte at the European level," Le Maire told journalists after a meeting with EU counterparts about digital services taxation.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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