French Economy and Finance Minister Eric Lombard has suggested striking back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs broadside by more strictly regulating U.S. Big Tech’s use of data.
“We may strengthen certain administrative requirements or regulate the use of data,” Lombard said in an interview with Le Journal Du Dimanche.
He added that another option could be to “tax certain activities,” without being more specific.
A French government spokesperson already said last week that the EU’s retaliation against U.S. tariffs could include “digital services that are currently not taxed.”
That suggestion was fiercely rejected by Ireland, which hosts the European headquarters of several U.S. Big Tech firms.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to respond to Trump’s trade war.
Technology is seen as a possible area for Europe to retaliate. The European Union has a €157 billion trade surplus in goods, which means it exports more than it imports, but it runs a deficit of €109 billion in services, including digital services.
Big Tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta dominate many parts of the market in Europe.
Lombard said on Friday that the trade war with Washington might prevent France from bringing down its bloated budget deficit. “Tax revenues would probably fall, and then GDP would fall compared to forecasts, which would worsen the deficit,” Lombard said in an interview with BFMTV/RMC.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou said on Sunday that Trump’s tariff onslaught will cut France’s gross domestic product by more than 0.5 percentage point.
“The risk of job losses is absolutely major, as is that of an economic slowdown and a halt to investment. The consequences will be significant: Trump’s policies could cost us more than 0.5 percent of GDP,” Bayrou said in an interview with Le Parisien.
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