France is pushing ahead with a landmark tax
on tech companies like Google and Facebook
despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of
retaliatory tariffs on French wine.
That’s rattling French vintners, who sold 1.6
billion euros ($1.78 billion) worth of wine last
year to American consumers. But neither Trump
nor French President Emmanuel Macron appears
ready to back down.
After Trump slammed the “foolishness” of the tax
in a tweet last Friday and promised reciprocal
action, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire
said France will implement it anyway.
He insisted that the measure doesn’t target
American companies, and that “fair and effective
taxation on digital activities” is of universal concern.