Canada folded in 24 hours when Trump threatened to walk away from trade talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron told the world last week that France and the United States had quietly resolved their dispute over taxing Silicon Valley.
Trump just stepped off the plane in France and told the New York Post that Macron is dead wrong – and every bottle of French wine and champagne headed for America could face a 100% tariff to prove it.
Macron Claimed Victory Before Trump Landed
A senior French official briefed reporters last week that the digital services tax dispute was effectively settled among G7 nations.
A U.S. official flatly called that account inaccurate.
Now Trump is on French soil and the dispute Macron declared dead is the first thing dominating the summit.
https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2066473290198303011?s=20
The digital services tax – nicknamed the GAFAM tax after Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft – has been hitting American tech companies with a 3% levy since 2019.
The USTR investigated it, found it discriminatory, and threatened 25% tariffs.
Biden suspended those tariffs the moment he took office and never collected a dime.
France pocketed an estimated $700 million from the tax in 2025 alone.
Macron Tried to Bury This Story Before Trump Landed
Macron's office told reporters last week the dispute was settled.
No negotiation, no agreement, no statement from Washington – just a French official briefing the press that everything was fine and nobody needed to ask about it at the summit.
That was a lie told in advance to avoid a fight Macron knows he can't win.
France collected hundreds of millions from American companies every year while Biden sat on his hands.
Trump just showed up in Macron's own country and announced it ends now.
“I asked [President Emmanuel Macron] not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France,” Trump told the Post. “All [Macron] has to do is get rid of the sales tax, and he wouldn’t have that kind of pressure.”
Canada faced the exact same choice last year – and within 48 hours of Trump cutting off trade talks, Canada's finance minister was on television announcing the tax was gone.
https://twitter.com/euronews/status/2066467064374603895?s=20
Macron watched that happen and decided France was different.
"This new threat is bad news for our industry, which relies heavily on exports," French wine and spirits exporters group FEVS said.
The U.S. market is one-fifth of everything French wine sells globally.
Champagne has to come from Champagne.
Cognac has to come from Cognac.
There is nowhere else to sell it.
Macron is betting that Trump won't actually pull the trigger – that the 100% threat is leverage, not policy.
Canada made the same bet for about 48 hours.
Sources:
- Eric Mack, "Trump Threatens 100% Tariff on French Wines Over Digital Services Tax Before G7 Summit," Fox Business, June 15, 2026.
- "Trump Says France Must Scrap Tech 'Sales Tax' or Face 100% Wine Tariffs," CNBC, June 15, 2026.
- "Conclusion of USTR's Investigation Under Section 301 into France's Digital Services Tax," United States Trade Representative, December 2, 2019.
- "Notice of Action in the Section 301 Investigation of France's Digital Services Tax," Federal Register, July 16, 2020.
- "Canada Rescinds Digital Services Tax to Advance Trade Discussions with the United States," Department of Finance Canada, June 29, 2025.
- "Trump Warns France with 100% Wine Tariffs Over U.S. Tech Tax," Investing.com, June 15, 2026.
