The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) investigation will include measures in the U.K. and EU as well as Brazil, India and Indonesia. USTR Robert Lighthizer said President Donald Trump was concerned the taxes “unfairly target our companies.” Meanwhile, the European Commission is seeking new antitrust powers to order companies deemed to be abusing their dominance to change their practices, even if they have followed competition law. (Reuters)

Talking point: The White House capped a similar Section 301 investigation into France’s digital-services tax with tariff threats, winning a delay in its implementation. But that truce did not survive COVID-19—in May, France announced it would move forward with the measure this year. The U.S. is already engaged in commercial disputes with other governments targeted by the probe, for example by removing longstanding trade preferences for India and Turkey. Most countries—including Canada, where the Liberals promised a three-per cent value added tax during the 2019 federal election—have said their digital-services levies are stopgaps until an OECD global tax reform proposal is implemented, but a key approval meeting has been postponed from July to October because of the pandemic.