Arya News - France is urging the EU to consider using its Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) against the US if President Donald Trump imposes retaliatory tariffs on trading partners starting April 2, Bloomberg reports. The European Commission is not yet considering this move, pending a US announcement.
A 25% US tariff on steel and aluminum imports took effect on March 12. The EU plans counter-tariffs on $28 billion worth of US goods, including a 50% duty on American whiskey, starting in April. Trump has criticized EU non-tariff barriers, calling April 2 "Liberation Day." What is the ACI? The last time France tried – and FAILED – to tax the US was in 2019, when it proposed a levy on digital services, specifically on Google, Amazon, Facebook*, and Apple. Known as the "GAFA tax" (after the initials of the US tech giants), it was intended to target companies that profit heavily from the French market, but pay minimal taxes in France. What happened: The US saw the move as discriminatory and unfair, aimed solely at American companies. Washington threatened to impose tariffs on French goods, including items like wine and cheese. France backed down, agreeing to temporarily suspend the tax until an international agreement on taxing digital services at the global level could be hammered out. * Banned in Russia for extremism