CEI Joins ATR: Applauding U.S. Action on DST, Calling for Tougher EU Trade Terms
Dear President Trump,
Thank you for protecting American innovators from abuse by the Canadian government through their Digital Services Tax (DST). We also applaud your strong stance against European efforts to overregulate, tax, fine, and otherwise extort our successful companies.
The European Union has been fleecing our companies for decades, and the last administration turned a blind eye to it while they ate into our competitive edge. As you address unfair non-tariff trade barriers in your negotiations with the European Union, we encourage you to secure explicit commitments to refrain from discriminating against U.S. technology companies.
The EU treats American technology companies like a piggy bank to fund their welfare states. Laws like the Digital Markets Act allow unelected European bureaucrats and government-funded NGOs to shake American companies down to a degree that ensures they cannot compete with European and Chinese competitors. They then siphon billions of dollars in fines before these companies can reasonably try to comply.
American technology leaders Google, Amazon, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta have all faced antitrust fines and court judgements under the EU’s Digital Markets Act in the past few years. They are punished for being the only game in town, even as the EU makes it impossible for Europeans to compete with them.
Europe’s overregulation has crushed their own ability to innovate and compete. Rather than allow their own people to flourish, the European Commission and member states continue to impose their own dour and pessimistic legal frameworks to weaken American technology companies and prop up their own through subsidies. Of course, rather than resulting in a thriving tech sector in
Europe, this approach simply cedes ground to Chinese tech giants that are eagerly awaiting to seize market share from U.S. companies. Over the last few weeks, European officials have repeatedly stated that they refuse to address these practices in trade talks with the U.S. They seem to have forgotten who is now in the White House and expect the U.S. to continue rolling over. As your strong leadership against Canada’s discriminatory digital services tax showed, the U.S. is no longer sitting on the sideline as foreign governments shake down our companies.
This is a critical moment to ensure a U.S.-EU trade deal explicitly addresses the extortionate and discriminatory practices in the DMA and prevents similar practices in future laws. History has shown that without a strong U.S. government response, the EU will not stop targeting American innovators.
We stand ready to support these efforts to stand up for American interests as our innovators lead us into a new golden age.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
David Williams
President
Taxpayer Protection Alliance
James Erwin
Executive Director
Digital Liberty
Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy
Lorenzo Montanari
Executive Director
Property Rights Alliance
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Jessica Melugin
Director of Technology & Innovation
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Council
Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Daniel Erspamer
CEO
Pelican Institute
James Madison Institute
Edward Longe
Director of Technology & Innovation
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Brent Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer
Americans for Prosperity
Charles Sauer
President
Market Institute
Dick Patten
President
American Business Defense Council
Jim Martin
Chairman
60Plus
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty