Turkey’s digital taxes discriminate against our companies, says US

The US has complained that digital taxes in Turkey discriminate against American companies, paving the way for tariffs, Al Jazeera has reported. The complaint was made by the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday.

According to the media outlet, digital services taxes adopted by Turkey are said to discriminate against American companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles. Retaliatory tariffs could be on the way.

The USTR announced that it is not taking specific action at this time, but “will continue to evaluate all available options.” It pointed out that digital taxes imposed by France, India, and Italy also discriminate against big US tech firms, such as Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon.com.

However, last July, the US Court of International Trade ruled that the additional tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on Turkish steel exports were unconstitutional. The sanctions were imposed in October 2019 and targeted specific ministries and officials in Ankara after Turkey’s military operation was launched in north-east Syria.

READ: US Treasury lifts sanctions off Turkey ministries