Germany and other European countries have cautioned against Brussels potentially hitting Big Tech if trade negotiations with the Trump administration fail over the next few months.
US President Donald Trump earlier this month said he would impose a 20 per cent “reciprocal tariff” on all EU imports, which has since been reduced to 10 per cent over a 90-day period in which he is seeking talks with global partners.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in an interview with the Financial Times said Brussels was readying retaliatory measures should these talks fail, including a possible tax on digital advertising revenues that would hit tech groups such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.