On January 7, 2021, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the tariff action in the Section 301 investigation of France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) will be suspended. The additional 25% ad valorem tariffs on certain products of France were announced in July 2020, and were scheduled to go into effect on January 6, 2021. The USTR has decided to suspend the tariffs in light of the ongoing investigation of similar DSTs adopted or under consideration in ten other jurisdictions. Those investigations have significantly progressed, but have not yet reached a determination on possible trade actions. A suspension of the tariff action in the France DST investigation will promote a coordinated response in all of the ongoing DST investigations.
The suspension of the France DST tariffs is set out in a notice sent for publication in the Federal Register. The suspension is effective retroactively to 12:01 am January 6, 2021.
