France ready to challenge US tariff threat at WTO
(VOVWORLD) -France says it is ready to challenge the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over its threat to slap tariffs on French goods in retaliation for a French tax targeting American technology companies.
Back in July, the French parliament passed a “digital tax” law, which mainly targets American technology giants like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. The digital tax law, due to kick in retroactively from the start of 2019, imposes a three percent levy on digital services revenues gained in France by companies that earn more than 25 million euros in France and 750 million euros worldwide.
Last Monday, the US threatened to slap punitive duties of up to 100 percent on 2.4 billion USD worth of French products, including alcoholic beverages, cheese, and handbags, in retaliation for France’s new law. France is the world's top wine exporter and the US is the world's largest importer and consumer of wine.