There’s No First-Mover Advantage to Irritating Trump

The punitive tariffs on French goods proposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are a disproportionate response to France’s digital services tax. But that’s what French President Emmanuel Macron gets for his impatience to be the first to tax multinational internet platforms without waiting for international organizations to agree on a coordinated solution.

The proposed tariffs of up to 100%, which are likely to be imposed sometime next year after a public discussion, cover French cheeses and other dairy products, sparkling wine, cosmetics, handbags and porcelain with a combined trade value of $2.4 billion. Even if imports drop significantly in response to the harsh measure, the U.S. government is likely to collect more from the tariffs than France’s planned revenue from the digital tax of between 400 million euros ($443 million) and 500 million euros this year.