On Thursday, the US announced that it had scrapped plans to impose tariffs of 25% on French luxury goods after the country imposed taxes on big tech companies such as Facebook and Amazon. The US stated that it intends to instead coordinate its response with efforts in similar disputes with other countries. Last year, the US Trade Representative threatened to impose the tariffs in retaliation to France’s 3% tax on certain revenue from big tech companies. The US claimed that this unfairly targeted American businesses.
The tariffs were supposed to go into effect on Wednesday, but have been suspended without a set date in place. Retailers and importers criticized that the punitive tariffs were being used as a tool that aims to protect one industry at the expense of another. They also stated that the tariffs would hurt American consumers. The decision puts more pressure on President-elect Joe Biden and his administration to address increasing demands from other countries.
Read More: U.S. Suspends Plan to Impose Tariffs on French Luxury Goods
