MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
THE SENIOR COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT FOR TRADE
AND MANUFACTURING
SUBJECT: Defending American Corporations and Innovators From
Abroad Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties
Part 1. Goal. In recent times, the gross home product of the US’ digital financial system alone, pushed by cutting-edge American expertise firms, has been larger than all the financial system of Australia, Canada, or most members of the European Union. As an alternative of empowering their very own employees and economies, overseas governments have more and more exerted extraterritorial authority over American firms, significantly within the expertise sector, hindering these firms’ success and appropriating revenues that ought to contribute to our Nation’s well-being, not theirs.
Starting in 2019, a number of buying and selling companions enacted digital providers taxes (DSTs) that would value American firms billions of {dollars} and that overseas authorities officers overtly admit are designed to plunder American firms. Overseas international locations have moreover adopted laws governing digital providers which are extra burdensome and restrictive on United States firms than their very own home firms. Extra overseas authorized regimes restrict cross-border information flows, require American streaming providers to fund native productions, and cost community utilization and Web termination charges. All of those measures violate American sovereignty and offshore American jobs, restrict American firms’ international competitiveness, and improve American operational prices whereas exposing our delicate info to probably hostile overseas regulators.
My Administration won’t enable American firms and employees and American financial and nationwide safety pursuits to be compromised by one-sided, anti-competitive insurance policies and practices of overseas governments. American companies will not prop up failed overseas economies by means of extortive fines and taxes.
Sec. 2. Coverage. It’s the coverage of my Administration that the place a overseas authorities, by means of its tax or regulatory construction, imposes a high quality, penalty, tax, or different burden that’s discriminatory, disproportionate, or designed to switch vital funds or mental property from American firms to the overseas authorities or the overseas authorities’s favored home entities, my Administration will act, imposing tariffs and taking such different responsive actions essential to mitigate the hurt to the US and to restore any ensuing imbalance.
In taking such responsive motion, my Administration shall contemplate:
(a) taxes imposed on United States firms by overseas governments, together with people who could discriminate towards United States firms;
(b) laws imposed on United States firms by overseas governments that would inhibit the expansion or meant operation of United States firms;
(c) any act, coverage, or apply of a overseas authorities that would require a United States firm to jeopardize its mental property; and
(d) Another act, coverage, or apply of a overseas authorities that serves to undermine the worldwide competitiveness of United States firms.
Sec. 3. Company Duties. (a) The USA Commerce Consultant shall decide, in accordance with relevant legislation, whether or not to resume investigations beneath part 301 of the Commerce Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411) of the DSTs of France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, which have been initiated beneath my Administration on July 16, 2019, and June 5, 2020. If the US Commerce Consultant determines to resume such investigations, he shall take all applicable and possible motion in response to these DSTs.
(b) The USA Commerce Consultant shall decide, according to part 302(b) of the Commerce Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2412(b)) (part 302(b)), whether or not to research the DST of every other nation which will discriminate towards United States firms or burden or limit United States commerce. He shall additional decide whether or not to pursue a panel beneath the United States-Mexico-Canada Settlement on the DST imposed by Canada and whether or not to research Canada’s DST beneath part 302(b). In making these determinations, the US Commerce Consultant shall seek the advice of with the Secretary of the Treasury, as applicable.
(c) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the US Commerce Consultant shall collectively establish commerce and different regulatory practices by different international locations, together with, with out limitation, these described in part 2 of this memorandum, that discriminate towards, disproportionately have an effect on, or in any other case undermine the worldwide competitiveness or meant operation of United States firms, within the digital financial system and extra usually, and advocate to me applicable actions to counter such practices beneath relevant authorities. The USA Commerce Consultant shall embody the outcomes of this evaluate as a part of the report required in part 5(c) of the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (America First Commerce Coverage) (America First Commerce Coverage Memorandum).
(d) The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the US Commerce Consultant shall examine whether or not any act, coverage, or apply of any nation within the European Union or the UK has the impact of requiring or incentivizing the use or growth of United States firms’ services or products in ways in which undermine freedom of speech and political engagement or in any other case average content material, and advocate applicable actions to counter such practices beneath relevant authorities. The USA Commerce Consultant shall embody the outcomes of this evaluate as a part of the report required in part 5(c) of the America First Commerce Coverage Memorandum.
(e) The Secretary of the Treasury, in session with the Secretary of Commerce and the US Commerce Consultant, shall decide whether or not any overseas nation topics United States residents or firms, together with, with out limitation, within the digital financial system, to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes, or has any tax measure in place that in any other case undermines the worldwide competitiveness of United States firms, is inconsistent with any tax treaty of the US, or is in any other case actionable beneath part 891 of title 26, United States Code, or different tax-related authorized authority. The Secretary of the Treasury shall embody the outcomes of this dedication as a part of the report required in part 2 of the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (The Group for Financial Co-Operation and Improvement (OECD) International Tax Deal).
(f) The USA Commerce Consultant shall establish instruments the US can use to safe amongst buying and selling companions a everlasting moratorium on customs duties on digital transmissions. The USA Commerce Consultant shall embody the outcomes of this evaluate as a part of the report required in part 5(c) of the America First Commerce Coverage Memorandum.
(g) The USA Commerce Consultant, in session with the Secretary of Commerce and the Senior Counselor to the President for Commerce and Manufacturing, shall set up a course of that enables American companies to report back to the US Commerce Consultant overseas tax or regulatory practices that disproportionately hurt United States firms.
Sec. 4. Basic Provisions. (a) Nothing on this memorandum shall be construed to impair or in any other case have an effect on:
(i) the authority granted by legislation to an govt division or company, or the top thereof; or
(ii) the capabilities of the Director of the Workplace of Administration and Price range regarding budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be carried out according to relevant legislation and topic to the supply of appropriations.
(c) This memorandum will not be meant to, and doesn’t, create any proper or profit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at legislation or in fairness by any social gathering towards the United States, its departments, businesses, or entities, its officers, workers, or brokers, or every other particular person.
(d) The USA Commerce Consultant is allowed and directed to publish this memorandum within the Federal Register.
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